Seme and Slave
by The Crimson Kiss
Summary: Sasuke is kidnapped as a baby and made a slave to an abusive master. Fourteen years later Itachi claims him as his own slave, but soon things turn into more than a simple owner-and-pet relationship. ItaSasu YAOI LEMONS! BDSM, Uchihacest, master-slave, bondage, toys, submission, domination, graphic. Uke Sasuke, seme Itachi, Rated M, AU, shonen-ai, bl, slash. Please R&R!
1. The First Time

**Warnings: Yaoi lemon! That means graphic boy-boy sex, and a little BDSM. If that's not your thing... then why the hell did you click this story? Also Sasuke and Itachi OOCness. And incest, although they don't know it, so... Clancest? Also, warning of little slave Sasuke... and hot seme Itachi... so, master-slave relationship.**

**Summary: Sasuke was kidnapped as a baby and made a slave to an abusive master. Fourteen years later Itachi finds him and decides he needs a slave of his own. This fic pics up a couple weeks after Sasuke has been 'rescued'.**

**Please don't flame and leave reviews saying how yaoi is disgusting. Flames will be used to roast marshmellows. Thanks :)**

* * *

><p>"Sasuke," Itachi said, making Sasuke jump slightly. The boy looked up nervously from his submissive kneeling position before guiltily returning his gaze to the floor, as if he was afraid he would be punished for meeting his master's eyes.<p>

"Yes, Master-sama?" Itachi sighed slightly at the title but didn't comment on it.

"Can you please go inside and get the glass vase sitting on the kitchen windowsill?" Itachi asked. Sasuke brightened considerable at the order, and he got to hit feet eagerly.

"Yes, Master-sama." He scurried off, still keeping his head down, and Itachi shifted the bundle of daisies he was holding. A moment later Sasuke reappeared with the requested object, and he hurried over to Itachi and handed him the vase. Just as the elder Uchiha's hand was about to close on the glass object, the wind blew a window open with a loud slam, making the already tense Sasuke flinch. His hand slipped, and Itachi didn't yet have a good grip on it, so the vase fell to the floor and shattered on contact with the hard stone floor.

Itachi sighed, knowing what his slave's reaction would be. Sasuke's eyes widened in fear after the vase broke, and in the next second he had thrown himself into a kneeling position at Itachi's feet, head down, apologizing. He was shaking slightly, and Itachi knew that his old master would probably have beaten the boy for such a mistake; maybe even killed him.

"I'm sorry, Uchiha-master-sama, I beg your forgiveness, I – please no, I'm sorry!" the last bit was prompted by Itachi bending down to pick up a piece of broken glass. The movement frightened the already quivering Sasuke, causing him to cringe and bow lower, his nose almost brushing the ground. Itachi noted that he was trembling, and his breathing was short and irregular from terror.

Seeming to realize that Itachi wasn't going to strike him immediately, Sasuke began apologizing again, keeping his head down and his overly thin body in a submissive posture. "Uchiha-sama, I'm sorry, it was my fault, please do not punish me too harshly." Itachi sighed as the brat went on. Honestly, did Sasuke not realize how appealing he looked, groveling on the ground? He was hot and submissive – the perfect uke. He would have to take care to watch the boy more carefully when they went out in public.

"Sasuke," he growled, using a tone he had reserved for servants when they angered him. Sasuke gulped and paled, falling silent as he knelt at Itachi's feet in a small pile, awaiting his master's wishes. Itachi knew he was frightening the boy, and to be honest, he was quite enjoying it; seeing the brat quivering in terror in front of him was a big turn on.

"M-master-sama," the boy replied when Itachi did not give an order or deal out a punishment. He yelped in fear when Itachi suddenly reached forward and grabbed a handful of dark, silky hair and yanked his slave's head back.

"Sasuke," he snarled again, causing the boy to quake in terror. "You've made quite the blunder this time, haven't you?"

"Y-yes, master-sama," the boy whimpered, perhaps hoping that if he agreed his punishment would be less severe.

"And that means you need to be punished, doesn't it?"

"Yes, m-master-sama." Sasuke had screwed his eyes shut, obviously frightened out of his wits, totally at his master's mercy. Itachi smirked the infamous Uchiha smirk. Inwardly a part of the older Uchiha felt bad for frightening the teen like this, but the other, larger part knew that doing things this way made it much more fun.

"Well then. Get up." He snapped the last words and roughly pushed Sasuke, causing the boy to flinch and scramble to his feet. He stood, quivering, waiting for whatever punishment his master deemed appropriate. "Come with me," Itachi ordered brusquely. He turned and began striding towards his bedroom, glad that the house was empty for the day. Sasuke was white in the face by that point, but he followed Itachi obediently, eying his master with something between pleading and terror. He was shaking so badly he had trouble opening the door for his master, prompting an impatient noise on Itachi's part and yet another cringe from Sasuke.

_I think I'm going to enjoy this, _Itachi thought wickedly. Sasuke saw the devilish look on his lord and master's face and paled even further, deciding to stop walking and dart into one of the adjacent hallways in a last attempt to escape Itachi's wrath. The older Uchiha ended that plan by grabbing Sasuke's thin arms before he was far enough away and yanking him backwards and up into a painfully bent position. Sasuke yelped and hung in Itachi's grasp, feet hardly touching the floor and soft sobs wracking his skinny form.

"Listen, _brat," _Itachi growled with false anger, "I'm taking you into that bedroom, and I am going to have my way with you. Struggle and I will make it absolute torture." Sasuke was crying almost indistinguishable pleas for mercy by now, which Itachi pretended to ignore. "However," and here the master lowered his slave back to the ground and unbent his arms from their painful position, "if you accept your punishment as it is, it won't hurt more than necessary." Itachi loosened his grip on Sasuke's quivering form but didn't let him go. Sasuke was obviously still terrified, but at least now he knew that if he just took it without complaining it would be bearable.

From his position in his master's iron grasp, Sasuke trembled in fear. He had made a mistake, and now Master-sama was going to punish him for it, perhaps brutally. Uchiha-master-sama hadn't punished him for anything yet, so Sasuke was even more afraid of what his owner was going to do to him. Perhaps he would refuse to feed Sasuke for a week, like old master-sama had liked to do? Or maybe he would make Sasuke sleep outside in the freezing cold? Maybe he would just beat Sasuke, but then the question became how hard did Master-sama hit? Sasuke didn't know, and he was scared to find out. Sasuke knew that master-sama used to be an ANBU member and a very powerful ninja, so if he decided to hurt or even kill Sasuke, he would be totally helpless. Sasuke had tried apologizing and pleading, but nothing had seemed to pacify his angry owner. Sasuke just hoped that master-sama would show him mercy.

They arrived at the bedroom, and Itachi yanked open the door and dragged Sasuke inside, and then threw the smaller male onto the bed. Sasuke squeaked when his skull hit the headboard, more out of surprise at the abrupt motion than actual pain. Itachi quickly followed, crouching predatorily over Sasuke's small form and caging the boy's body with his own. He straddled the small teen's waist and pinned Sasuke's hands above his head with one of his own. Sasuke's sharingan eyes were wide, and his face was sheet white. This was not like any punishment old master-sama had put him through, and that frightened Sasuke. His thoughts were abruptly cut off when Itachi grabbed a handful of his silky raven hair and yanked his head back roughly, then lunged forward and sunk his teeth into Sasuke's throat, not deeply enough to break the skin, but deeply enough to hurt.

Sasuke whimpered, feeling his master's canines brush against his jugular. One accidental twitch on Itachi-sama's part and Sasuke's throat would be in serious jeopardy.

"Please, Master-sama…" Sasuke broke off with a sound of pain as Itachi tightened the grip his teeth had on the boy's tender flesh. Itachi then eased up on the pressure but kept his teeth grazing against Sasuke's vulnerable neck as a reminder of who was in control. Sasuke gasped in surprise when, instead of hitting him or taking a knife and marking him like old master-sama had threatened to do, Itachi ran his tongue over Sasuke's previously abused throat. A cold shiver ran through the boy's body at the movement, and Itachi chuckled darkly as goose bumps appeared on Sasuke's arms and neck.

"You like that, boy?" Itachi's hand that wasn't tugging at Sasuke's hair slowly meandered down his body; his fingertips pressed against the center of his throat, then down to the top of his chest, lightly brushing Sasuke's milky white skin. Sasuke shivered as his owner's touch traveled down his throat and neck, before brushing his collarbone, but Itachi's fingers paused when they encountered the cloth of Sasuke's worn and threadbare shirt.

A low growl of irritation passed Itachi's lips, and Sasuke froze at the sound. It didn't matter that it wasn't the boy's fault he was wearing something; if master-sama was angry for some reason then surely he would take it out on Sasuke, like all masters took their tempers out on their slaves. Knowledge of Uchiha-master-sama's occupation as S-class ninja flew through Sasuke's mind, and he moaned in fear when master-sama turned back to him.

From his position above the terrified slave, Itachi observed Sasuke cringing and casting him fearful glances. Itachi leaned forward so that their bodies were pressed together, ignoring the fact that Sasuke was stiff as a board, and whispered, "it's alright, Sasuke. When I said I was going to punish you, I did not mean a beating or physical pain." At that he paused, considering, and Sasuke's trembling lessoned a little. "Well, not too much pain, anyway." The boy's shaking returned full-force, and Itachi sighed. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed that the teen seemed to want to say something. "What is it?" Sasuke's eyes widened even further (if possible) and he quickly stammered,

"N-nothing, Uchiha-master-sama."

"Oh come now," Itachi said, shifting the two of them so that he was sitting and Sasuke was sitting partially in his lap, the boy's smooth, round rump resting on the growing lump in Itachi's trousers. "I'm about to fuck your ass, you must want to say something." Itachi's hands trailed down Sasuke's thin arms as he waited for the boy to respond. His hands were big enough to completely encircled Sasuke's arms, showing how under-fed the slave was.

Sasuke shivered as master-sama's hands slid along the flesh of his arms, occasionally wrapping around and squeezing slightly. Sasuke was not sure what master-sama was asking of him when he said that Sasuke must have something to say; after all, Sasuke was just a possession, he didn't have opinions or things to say about anything. Old master-sama had occasionally enjoyed hearing Sasuke beg; perhaps that was what master-sama wanted from him. He decided to give it a try.

"M-master-sama…" he said cautiously, still nervous about speaking without being spoken to.

"Yes, Sasuke? Tell me what you want." Itachi moved his hands to grip Sasuke's hips, and he ground his hard member into Sasuke's soft bottom. The older Uchiha knew he wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer – the urge to pound the boy into the mattress was getting too strong.

"Master-sama," Sasuke took a deep breath and made his voice as submissive and pleading as he could, "please do not punish me too severely. I belong to you and I am ours to do with as you will, but I beg you, please do not hurt your slave." Sasuke tensed as the words passed his lips; he hadn't meant to say so much! Surely master-sama would beat him for an outburst like that. The boy shut his eyes tightly, tilting his head back and exposing his vulnerable throat in a last expression of submission. "Please, master, show mercy." He sat very still, quivering with expectations of pain, but Itachi-sama did not strike him like he'd feared.

Itachi smirked and ran a rough finger across Sasuke's fragile neck. "Very well then." Sasuke shuddered at the contact but couldn't move away. "Since you asked so nicely, I'll take it easy on you. Do exactly as I say and you may even enjoy it." Itachi's hand ran over the boy's thin chest through the material of his shirt and pinched a nipple, enjoying Sasuke's gasp. "Oh, relax, boy. I wasn't really angry with you. I just wanted an excuse to do this –" he broke off and twisted the fingers still clamped around Sasuke's nub; he yelped and suppressed a whine.

The part about doing exactly what his master said comforted the terrified slave somewhat; following orders was his specialty, after all, so if what master-sama said was true then there might actually be some hope for Sasuke. He was grateful that master-sama had listened to his pleading to a certain degree – after all, Uchiha-master-sama owned Sasuke; he could do whatever he wanted with him and his body. Sasuke was thankful that master-sama had decided to 'take it easy on him' as master had put it.

"What – aah…" Sasuke broke off as Itachi's fingers roughly scraped over both his nipples at once, causing pleasure and pain in equal measures. "What is your command, master-sama?"

"For starters, it's just 'master', not 'master-sama.'"

"Yes, master."

"Good boy. Now get off the bed and take off your clothing."

"Yes master." Sasuke hurriedly slid off Itachi's lap and stripped off his shirt, revealing the creamy milk-white expanse of his chest and back. His pants quickly followed, and Itachi's pants suddenly felt several sizes too small as the boy's smooth legs and ass came into view. Sasuke hesitated for a split second before taking off his boxers; Sasuke had never had sex before, especially with another male, so he was a little nervous. Still, the terror of his master lay too close to the surface to hesitate for long – Sasuke finished stripping and returned to the bed, keeping his eyes down submissively and hoping his master hadn't seen his hesitation in carrying out his order.

No such luck. "Sasuke, why did you hesitate?" Sasuke gulped fearfully.

"I – I'm sorry, Master-sama –"

"Just master, and you're not answering my question."

Sasuke cringed, all hopes of a merciful punishment disappearing. Seeing that master-sama was still waiting for his answer, he said quietly, "I – I'm sorry master, it's just that…" Itachi shifted on the bed, causing a nervous pause in Sasuke's words.

"Go on," the older man said, trying to sound calming.

"I have never had sex before," the boy admitted. Sasuke was still expecting master-sama to be angry with him for not obeying his order completely and immediately, so his next words shocked him.

"Oh, is that all?" Itachi was honestly surprised; from what he had gathered from Sasuke's reactions to him, his old master had been very abusive. Itachi had simply assumed that that included sex.

Sasuke nodded quickly, looking as if he were attempting to melt into the floor. He was obviously terrified, and for a moment Itachi almost felt bad for frightening the boy. It almost made him reconsider how he had planned on doing this.

_Almost. _

Itachi smirked the infamous Uchiha smirk again, and Sasuke almost wilted in place; he was sure he'd angered master-sama now.

"Well then," Itachi said, sitting up and motioning Sasuke over. Sasuke debated running out of the room, but the punishment for that would surely be worse than what was coming. "I'll make sure to hold back a bit with you. Wouldn't want you to break." At this Sasuke began to quiver again, and tears began to form in his ruby eyes.

"Hey," Itachi said softly, reaching out towards Sasuke. Sasuke flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, but Itachi only brushed a tear away and laid his rough palm carefully over Sasuke's smooth cheek. "It's alright, boy. No need to be afraid. What I said earlier still applies – do exactly as I say, and you might actually enjoy this."

Sasuke glanced at his master cautiously. "Yes… master."

Itachi smirked again.

"Well then." And without further warning, he grabbed Sasuke and swung him back onto the bed, twisting so that he ended up on top of the smaller, naked form. Sasuke yelped at the sudden movement, but Itachi ignored it and bit the boy's collarbone lightly, hard enough to leave a mark and cause Sasuke to writhe underneath him.

Itachi began ravishing Sasuke's milky skin with his teeth and tongue, biting roughly before soothing the area with the wet organ. He quickly located Sasuke's sweet spots and focused on them; the boy was particularly sensitive underneath the ears, directly on his jawline, and Itachi discovered with delight that the slave seemed to enjoy it when he was rougher with him. Sasuke slowly relaxed, seemingly beginning to understand that Itachi was _not _going to beat or punish him, and he stopped flinching every time his master made a quick move, although the apprehension refused to leave his eyes.

_Fuck going slow, _Itachi thought as desire ripped through him.

Sasuke had just about relaxed completely when suddenly his master got off him and slipped of his pants, revealing white boxers with a mountainous bulge in the middle. Sasuke's eyes widened.

_He's not going to put that inside me, is he? _Sasuke's stomach dropped when Itachi took his massive dick out of the confines of his boxers and approached again. _Oh gods, he is! I can't take that, I'll tear! _"Master…" Sasuke whimpered pitifully and cast his owner a pleading glance when Itachi crawled onto the bed and over top the slave again.

Instead of slamming directly into him as Sasuke was afraid of, master reached forward towards Sasuke's face, and the submissive partner cringed and shut his eyes reflexively. He felt fingers at his lips, and Sasuke opened his eyes and cast a questioning look at his owner.

"Suck them," Itachi ordered. "It'll be easier on you." Sasuke obeyed quickly and opened his mouth, and Itachi slipped his fingers inside while Sasuke suckled them gently. The slave's mouth as warm and inviting, and his master's cock hardened even further at the feel of Sasuke's tongue licking along his fingers.

Soon Itachi was happy with Sasuke's work and pulled his appendages out of Sasuke's hot, wet mouth. Sasuke asked him with his eyes what his master wanted him to do next.

"Turn over," Itachi rasped. His tone was darker and rougher, much less controlled and more domineering, and it sent shudders down Sasuke's back.

The dark-haired boy flipped over immediately, following his owner's order to the letter. Itachi leaned sideways for a moment and slid a drawer in the bed-side table open. He fished around for a moment before he returned to Sasuke, setting an object beside Sasuke on the bed and holding the other. Sasuke couldn't see exactly what was in his master's hand, but he hoped that it wasn't a whip or something like.

The slave was distracted from his fear for a moment when Itachi roughly grabbed his delicate hands with his other free hand and dragged the slave upwards so that he was half kneeling, half hanging. Sasuke whimpered when he felt something snap shut around his wrists and realized that his master had handcuffed him to the bed. Or specifically, the headboard.

Itachi owned one of those big, intricate beds, the type that have headboards that are around four feet high just by themselves. Sasuke's hands were chained to the top of said headboard, which left his bare arms stretched above his head. It was too high for him to kneel but to low to stand, so he just waited uncomfortably. The position gave Itachi a very nice view of his slave's ass, and he gave it an experimental pinch.

Real fear flashed behind Sasuke's eyes when Itachi picked up the other object – or, objects. What Sasuke had thought was one thing was actually two; a blindfold and a black leather collar.

Sasuke cringed and begged with his eyes as Itachi came up beside him and put the collar on, tightening it till it was almost painful. Itachi ignored his slave's nonverbal pleas and went to fasten the blindfold on, but Sasuke jerked away. "Sasuke," his master growled warningly. Sasuke whined in terror but didn't obey, temporarily more afraid of what would be done to him once the blindfold was over his eyes than what his master would do with him if he refused.

Itachi growled and, without warning, plunged two fingers up to the hilt in Sasuke's ass. Sasuke screamed in pain and shock, throwing his head back, and Itachi slipped the blindfold over his eyes and fastened it behind his head.

Sasuke whimpered but Itachi ignored him completely, once again leaving the bed and going over to the bed-side table. He pulled a thin black ribbon out and went back to Sasuke, smirking. Sasuke listened to him move closer, and the bed dipped as once again Itachi crawled onto the bed beside his tied and helpless slave.

Itachi observed the blindfolded and chained boy and smirked. _Just one more thing before I can fuck him senseless. _Itachi slipped an arm around Sasuke's thin waist and yanked him up, so that he was half kneeling on the bed and half hanging from his handcuffed arms. Sasuke whimpered again, and Itachi could feel the tremors of fear coming off him.

Sasuke gasped and cried out when his master's hand grasped his limp member roughly in an iron grip, making him cringe away from him. Something fastened around the base, and Sasuke realized that it was basically a cock ring. So, master wasn't planning on letting him cum.

Itachi got off the bed but stood close, so that he could touch Sasuke but Sasuke couldn't feel from the dip of the bed where he was. "Spread your legs," he commanded.

Sasuke, fearing further punishment, did as he was ordered and spread his milky thighs wide, allowing his master a clear view of his pink hole and porcelain skin. An ordinary person would be ashamed by this point, but Sasuke was so used to being degraded and punished that the situation he found himself in was hardly embarrassing. Yes, he feared what his owner may do to him, and he certainly did not like being tied and blindfolded, but it was better than being beaten unconscious or whipped till he passed out from pain, like his previous master had enjoyed doing.

Sasuke's thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Itachi crawled onto the bed behind him, Sasuke facing away from him, and ran a finger across one pearly white ass cheek. The elder then started massaging both fleshy cheeks with his hands, spreading them and squeezing them, alternating rough and gentle.

Then, Itachi slapped Sasuke. Not hard, but the slave jumped and yelped in surprise. The patch of skin on Sasuke's behind that Itachi had hit turned a delicious rose color, and with that Itachi lost the remains of his control.

Sasuke's saliva had long since dried off his fingers, so Itachi quickly spat on his hand before ramming two fingers into Sasuke's sensitive ass. Sasuke arched his back and let out a pained groan, hands gripping the headboard. Itachi began pumping his fingers quickly, sliding the digits in and out of Sasuke's wet heat.

Sasuke tensed at the first intrusion, but soon he realized that if he relaxed it hurt less. So he just stayed in that kneeling position, only spreading his legs wider when ordered to by a very horny Itachi. So far, it was not too painful, and Sasuke was just beginning to think that perhaps this was all there would be to this punishment, when Itachi hit something inside of him that made him see stars.

"Aaaahh- AAAHH!" the slave screamed, unconsciously trying to move away from the fingers striking his prostrate. However, his bound position made it impossible to move far, and Sasuke had no choice but to lay there as his master continued pumping his fingers in and out of his hole. Sasuke's tied cock began to harden, but the ribbon fastened at the base would prevent him from cumming till his master allowed it.

Itachi added a third finger, and Sasuke tensed again and whimpered at the larger object in his ass. The slave moaned wantonly as his master hit his sweet spot, and his voice went straight to Itachi's member.

The older Uchiha withdrew his fingers, leaving Sasuke's ass looking rather empty. However, hardly had the human possession had time to relax and catch his breath when Sasuke felt something much larger than three fingers pressed up against his entrance.

The memory of his master' massive size came flooding back, as well as all the fear that had disappeared with Itachi's fingers pounding his prostrate. Itachi pressed forward, sheathing just the tip of his cock in Sasuke's entrance, and the boy whimpered an incoherent plea. "Master…"

At the small sound, Itachi paused. Sasuke's naked, pale body was flushed in places and milky-smooth in others, and the entirety of the small form was trembling. With a small sigh, Itachi leaned forward so that his front touched Sasuke's back and whispered in his ear, "It's alright, Sasuke. I'm not going to hurt you, just play with you a bit. Make things interesting, and maybe I'll let you cum."

And with that, Itachi jerked his hips forward fully, completely encasing his eight-and-a-half inch cock inside Sasuke's virgin entrance. The master moaned in bliss and the slave shrieked in pain, both unaware of anything besides the powerful sensations swirling through their bodies. Sasuke tensed around the intrusion and instinctively tried to close his legs, but Itachi grabbed his thighs and held them apart firmly.

Itachi didn't wait long for Sasuke to adjust; he simply pulled out and slammed in to the hilt again, making Sasuke cry out in pain. "Aaaah, master!" Sasuke wasn't even sure what he wanted anymore; the pain was immense, but there _was _a faint hint of pleasure as Itachi-master-sama pounded into his ass, still forcefully holding his legs open. Still, the agony of being torn from the inside far outweighed any pleasure the slave was feeling, and for the first time in a few minutes, Sasuke considered the possibility that master-sama really did mean to hurt him.

Sasuke lost all coherent thought when Itachi's length hit something inside of him, making his hips jerk backwards and his back arch, screaming. "Aaaah, ah! Mas – oh, MASTER! Aaahh…"

"Does that feel good, brat?" Itachi demanded roughly. When Sasuke didn't reply immediately, Itachi fisted a handful of his silky black hair and jerked it backward, making Sasuke yelp in between his moans. The master did not slow his fucking as he pulled on Sasuke's hair, using the grip to thrust that much deeper into the boy's tight heat. "I asked a question, brat! How does it feel?" To demonstrate his point Itachi thrust particularly deep and stayed pressed inside, his balls firmly pushed up against the slave's tight hole.

Sasuke moaned in ecstasy as his master's dick pressed up against his prostrate and stayed there, making his legs tremble and his mouth open in a silent scream. He tried desperately to find coherent words in an attempt to answer his master's question. "It – aaaah, master… it feels amazing… master…" Itachi shifted inside him, and Sasuke whimpered in a mixture of agony and mind-blowing pleasure.

"That's right, it feels good," Itachi snarled into Sasuke's ear. "Tell me how good it feels!" He pulled out and pushed inside again, going slowly. He then reached around Sasuke's body, and his calloused hands found Sasuke's nipples. He pinched and squeezed them, causing Sasuke to gasp and buck against his hands. Itachi smirked and then thrust deeply inside his slave while at the same time twisting his nubs cruelly; Sasuke screamed and convulsed, collapsing against the headboard so that the handcuffs were the only thing keeping him up.

Itachi moved his hands and yanked the boy's back half up, giving him better access to the little pink hole, which he began to fuck ruthlessly. "Tell me how it feels," he snarled again. He let out a moan as Sasuke clamped down on his length again, but other than that he stayed in control.

"I – it feels – Aaah, master – so good – please – master- more, please master, give me more -"

Itachi smirked at the barley understandable response.

Sasuke's body thumped dully against the headboard from the force of Itachi's pounding, but the slave was not aware of anything other than the searing pleasure. Without even realizing it he was moaning and gasping for his master, and his own dick, limp till that point, began to stiffen and harden.

"Who does this body belong to?" Itachi growled, shoving his cock deeply into the slave's hole, earning a gasp and a loud moan. "Who do you belong to, brat?" Sasuke's hands clutched fruitlessly at the headboard as he struggled to respond.

"Uuhh – you, master! I belong to – aaahh! – you, master – ah! Master!"

"That's right," the older Uchiha snarled. "Mine. My little fuck toy, my property."

"Yes – master," Sasuke gasped out.

Itachi fell silent after that and focused on pounding his slave into the headboard. Sasuke's dick was painfully swollen by that point, and Itachi was surprised that the boy wasn't complaining; but then, the slave _was _expecting this to be a punishment, so perhaps he thought submitting himself to Itachi meant not complaining about the discomfort.

Itachi spread Sasuke's legs a little wider and lifted him up higher, giving him a better angle. He then doubled the speed with which he thrust into his slave's tiny little ass, and was rewarded with a piercing scream of pleasure.

"Ooh, Master! MASTER! Aaahh, please…"

"What do you want, slave?" Itachi breathed heavily into Sasuke's ear. "Tell master."

"I want to – aaarg!" Itachi thrust particularly deep, and Sasuke quivered and arched his back. Itachi was sure that if he hadn't put the cock ring on the brat, he would've cum by that point. "Please master, I want to cum. Please, master – ah!" Sasuke broke off with a gasp as Itachi reached around and began stroking his length, while still pounding into his ass. Sasuke was reduced to a whimpering, moaning mess, crying pleas for his master to please, please let him cum.

"You wanna cum?" Itachi rasped, scraping his nails lightly over Sasuke's throbbing member and sending jolts of pleasurable pain though the smaller body.

"Uh – yes, master, please may I cum? Please, master... uhh..."

Itachi smirked and undid the ribbon, but pinched the area before his slave could release.

"Uuuuaaaahhhhhh, maaaassteer!" Sasuke moaned and arched his back again, wordlessly begging Itachi to stop torturing him and let him cum.

Itachi thrust harder, going deeper, faster, harder, ruthlessly pounding into his slave's tiny hole. Sasuke was screaming constantly now, eyes squeezed shut and legs spread wide.

Soon Itachi felt his own orgasm coming on and shifted his grip on Sasuke's dick to hold onto his round hips for better leverage. Sasuke screamed louder as Itachi held his hips still and plunged his massive cock even deeper into his entrance. Then, Itachi had an idea.

The master began to channel chalkra into his thrusts, giving them more power and speed than he would normally be capable of. The pleasure reached new heights as Itachi's dick pounded repeatedly into Sasuke's prostrate, causing them both to groan.

Itachi felt his release coming and released his fingers, which were still pinching the base of Sasuke's member.

"Cum," he snarled roughly as he let go, Sasuke shaking uncontrollably as he did so. "Cum for your master!"

Sasuke's head was thrown back and his entire body tensed and arched against the handcuffs as his orgasm overtook him. White flashed before his eyes, and he spasmed uncontrollably and convulsed in the throes of his release as cum sprayed from the end of his abused cock. Then the hot walls of his hole tightened around Itachi's thrusting dick, sending his master over the edge as well. With a grunt Itachi thrust in deep one last time, shoving his entire cock into Sasuke; his balls tightened and pressed against Sasuke's smooth ass and his cum spurted deeply inside the slave, filling him.

After his orgasm Sasuke collapsed, exhausted and over-loaded. He hung limply from the chains on his wrists, cum and a little blood trickling from his ass and down his thighs, breathing heavily. His head slumped forward, raven hair surrounding his face, and his knees buckled. Itachi wasn't even sure if the boy was still conscious anymore.

Itachi considered leaving his cock inside his slave, but the poor boy looked extremely tired, so he pulled his deflated dick out of his entrance with a soft sucking sound. Sasuke didn't react at all, just remained hanging from his wrists.

A powerful urge to just lay down on the bed and sleep overtook Itachi, but he fought it off in favour of finding the key and unlocking Sasuke's restraints.

From his position at the head of the bed, Sasuke's mind was a jumble from the powerful sensations he's just been put through. He could feel sleep tugging at him like a black hole, but he stubbornly refused to go completely unconscious. There was some reason why he shouldn't fall asleep, but it momentarily alluded him.

Then he felt someone's hands gently grasping his waist and lowering him to the bed, and he realised that his hands must have been freed. Then, he remembered why he shouldn't relax; master was still there.

With a jolt Sasuke recalled the last and only time he'd fallen asleep around his first master – he'd been exhausted from a long day of work and then a beating, and master-sama had thrown him to the floor of his bedroom. Instead of crawling away, Sasuke had simply collapsed where he lay, and when Master-sama found him there he'd been very angry with him.

Sasuke instinctively tried to sit up and distance himself from the arms wrapped around his waist, which he realised with some fear belonged to his owner.

"Hey," Itachi whispered soothingly to Sasuke when he tensed. "It's alright, you can sleep."

"But – but master-sama!" the slave protested.

"But nothing," Itachi replied, uncharacteristically gentle. "You're tired." The older Uchiha brushed a strand of ebony hair away from his slave's face, ignoring the way Sasuke flinched when his hand neared his cheek. "You did well."

Sasuke paused in shock. Master-sama didn't just say Sasuke did well, did he? He must have, because that's what Sasuke's ears heard. "Th-thank you, Master-sama?" he replied hesitantly.

Itachi smiled and pulled Sasuke's still-naked form against his own as he lay down. He pulled a blanket over the both of them and pulled Sasuke close, ignoring the nervous tremours running through the smaller male's form. "It's okay, Sasuke," he said softly, laying a gentle kiss on the exposed flesh of Sasuke's neck. "You can relax. I'm not going to do that again for a little, and I won't hurt you." Sasuke nodded nervously and tried to relax his stiff muscles. "Did you enjoy it?" Sasuke froze at the question.

"Wh-what? I, um…" Sasuke trailed off. "I do not have preferences or opinions outside your own, master-sama."

Itachi smirked and smoothed his hand down Sasuke's leg to carasse his thigh, noting with amusement the goose bumps that formed on the boy's pale skin. "It's okay, you can tell me the truth. If you didn't like it, then we don't have to do it again. I won't force you. If, however you did like it…" Itachi stopped with a rather perverted grin. "Well, if you did like it, then I think we've found something better than cleaning the house and washing dishes for you to do."

Sasuke hesitated, a little blush forming on his cheeks, before he said quietly, "Um… no, Uchiha-master-sama, I… I liked it." He looked away, but Itachi just smirked.

"I thought so."

Itachi tightened his grip around the smaller boy, and Sasuke smiled slightly. Sure, he'd just been raped by his master, but somehow, it didn't feel like rape. Sasuke hesitantly snuggled closer, burying his face in his master's chest. Itachi was surprised at first, but then he returned the embrace fully.

_That went well, _Itachi thought in satisfaction as he looked down at his slave – or his lover – curled up in his arms. "Oi, Sasuke?" he asked quietly, not sure if the boy was asleep or not.

"Yes, master?" Apparently he was not.

"How would you like to be my boyfriend, instead of my slave?"

Sasuke tensed under the covers, but then relaxed again almost immediately. "I – I would like that," he replied timidly. Itachi smiled.

"Good. But you still have to call me master in the bedroom."

A little smile tilted Sasuke's delicate lips. "Yes, master."

The two fell silent after that, and soon Itachi was asleep. Sasuke quickly followed suit, but just before his consciousness faded, he realised something.

_I'm happy. _It was a strange, foreign feeling for the young, former slave – never before in his life had he been truly happy. He looked at his master's sleeping faceand smiled. Yes, he was happy.

* * *

><p><strong>Done. My second lemon ever. What did you guys think? Your feedback is very important to me, so if you have any input please tell me! Thanks so much for reading!<strong>

**This is my mascot Neko-san, he ends all my author's notes. He would love it if you reviewed.**

**／l、**  
><strong>ﾞ（ﾟ､ ｡ ７<strong>  
><strong>l、ﾞ ~ヽ<strong>  
><strong>じしf_, )ノ<strong>

**Thank you and I'll see you all next time!**

**- TheCrimsonKiss, proud partitioner of the Yaoi Rebellion  
><strong>


	2. Reassurances

**Hello Yawls! I want to personally thank each and every one of my reviewers:**

**Love Everlasting**

**TheGnRFangirl**

**XxpwnagexX**

**Ascendead Master**

**You guys are the only reason I was able to write a second chapter. I love you all! In a totally not-creepy way. Thank you!**

**Hey, as a side note, did you guys know that this was originally a one-shot? Well I guess you would't, seeing as I forgot to put it in the first chapter... stupid me. But you liked it, so here is more :) I'm going to aim for about seven-ten chapters, hopefully with a lemon either every chapter or every other at the least. There was never supposed to be any plot, but due to my over-planning tendencies, I have a plot emerging. **

**Anyways, enough of my ramblings. **

**Warnings: Yaoi lemon, graphic, slave-master relationship, Uchihacest (somewhat, because they don't know it...) and all that. Don't like don't read, simple. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Sasuke leaned against Itachi's leg, humming contentedly as the older Uchiha's hand stroked his hair. They had just finished dinner, and although Master Itachi had told Sasuke that he was allowed to sit at the table now, Sasuke still found it a little overwhelming, so he stuck to sitting on the floor.<p>

It had been exactly three days since Sasuke had made the transition from Itachi's slave to Itachi's lover. Although he still flinched at any sudden movements, and his instinctive fear of Itachi was hard to forget, he was beginning to get used to it. And he definitely liked it much, _much _better than where he'd lived before.

From the seat at the table, Itachi looked fondly down at the slim raven kneeling by his feet. Sasuke was technically free now, but he still acted as if he belonged to Itachi – _which, relationally speaking, he does, _Itachi thought with a possessive surge of affection. In truth, both members liked it better that way; Sasuke was submissive by nature as well as by training, and Itachi was domineering yet gruffly caring enough so that the two fit together perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle. Master and slave in the bedroom, by both member's preference, and seme and uke outside.

Neither of them had ever been happier.

"Oi, Sasuke?" Sasuke's eyes snapped to Itachi at the first sound, like a pet whose master has called it.

"Yes, Master Itachi?"

Itachi sighed inwardly at the whole 'Master Itachi' thing, but he didn't comment on it. He had told the boy many times that just Itachi was fine, but Sasuke just couldn't seem to unlearn his habit of referring to him as 'master'. So the two had come to the compromise of either 'Master Itachi' or 'Itachi-sama', both of which were far too formal for Itachi's taste, and far too familiar for Sasuke. For the first day or so, Sasuke had been extremely nervous about addressing his owner so familiarly, as if he were his equal instead of his servant.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like some more food?" Itachi was a little worried; the boy hadn't eaten more than two pieces of breads worth of breakfast in the three days he'd been free, and little more during the day. The young raven had gained at least a bit of weight since Itachi had bought him, but he was still unhealthily skinny.

"Y-yes, Master Itachi," Sasuke said, laying his head in Itachi's lap. Itachi smiled slightly and ran his fingers through Sasuke's spikes, gently caressing the silky black strands. Sasuke practically purred; Itachi could almost see the kitty ears and tail. Kitty ears and a tail…

Urg, now Itachi was having dirty thoughts.

"Ne, Sasuke?" Itachi said in an attempt to distract himself from the image of a naked, moaning cat Sasuke wearing a black collar...

"Yes, Master?" Sasuke said sleepily, lost in the feeling of fingers running through his hair.

"Itachi," Itachi reminded gently.

"Master Itachi," Sasuke corrected with an apologetic glance.

"What do you want to do today?"

Sasuke tensed slightly, as he always did when Itachi asked him for a personal opinion. "Ah – Whatever you want to do, Master Itachi." He was obviously nervous, unsure what the correct response would be.

"It's okay, Sasuke," Itachi told him softly for what felt like the thousandth time in the past seventy-eight hours. He moved his hand to cup Sasuke's cheek with his hand and rubbed soothing circles with his thumb, ignoring Sasuke's habitual cringe. "You aren't my slave anymore, you are my lover. If there's anything in particular you'd like to do, you can tell me." Sasuke's eyes slid shut, and he leaned into Itachi's touch.

"Hmm."

Itachi scooted his chair back slightly and then motioned to Sasuke; the younger Uchiha obeyed and climbed onto his lap and settled into his arms. Sasuke had been hesitant about close contact for the first two days – probably because the only close contact he'd ever had before was during beatings – but he was slowly loosening up. Itachi wrapped his arms around Sasuke's little waist and held him, and Sasuke leaned his head against Itachi's shoulder with a small sigh.

Itachi echoed the contented sigh with one of his own, feeling Sasuke's soft form pressed up against his. Oh shiz… There was only one problem with this position, Itachi reflected as Sasuke shifted against him. It always turned him on.

His little raven was just so attractive…. "Sasuke?" Itachi said again.

"Master?"

"You up for another round?"

Sasuke glanced up at Itachi's face quickly and immediately discerned the problem. A little jolt of fear ran through him, before he forced himself to remember that this was Itachi-sama, and Itachi-sama was a good master and wouldn't hurt him. "Um, if that's what you want Master." Itachi sighed – as much as he wanted to fuck his little kitty, he didn't want to do it when Sasuke didn't.

"'s up to you," Itachi said distractedly as Sasuke shifted again, unintentionally wriggling his ass against Itachi's crotch. "If you don't want to right now I can wait." Damn, that was going to be hard though…

"Um… no, now is good… I mean, if you wish it, Master."

Itachi smirked inwardly at the answer but frowned at the subservient attitude; he'd really need to help Sasuke express his opinion more.

At his master's small frown Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, memories of when other people frowned at him rushing back in a collaboration of flashbacks. The younger Uchiha's body moved before he'd even realised; he slid off Itachi's lap and slid to the floor, then to his knees, shaking.

"Sasuke?" Itachi said worriedly. Sasuke cringed and whimpered as a host of nightmarish memories assaulted him, his skinny form curving into a defensive position. Itachi stood and moved forward to comfort him, but stopped when Sasuke yelped and skittered backwards, his entire body radiating pure fear and his eyes wide. "Hey," Itachi breathed softly, sinking down so he was at eye level with Sasuke. "It's okay, Sasuke, I'm not going to hurt you." Sasuke refused to look at him, instead fixing his eyes on the floor and crouching lower, little tremors still running through his frame.

Itachi sat down on the floor and crossed his legs, patiently waiting for Sasuke to calm down. That kind of thing had happened a few times in the past couple days – Sasuke was still accustomed to being a slave who got beaten, abused and starved every day. Itachi was trying to put him at ease, but the poor boy was so jumpy, even the slightest move on Itachi's part would frighten him.

Itachi knew it would take a while for Sasuke to trust him, but, he thought as he observed Sasuke's cowering form, he would wait. Even if it took forever, Itachi would wait for Sasuke to start trusting him, to start loving him back.

"Sasuke…?" Itachi whispered, trying not to startle him again. Sasuke glanced up quickly, and when he found Itachi staring at him, looked down again with a small gasp, cringing lower. A thin line appeared between Itachi's eyes, but he didn't frown again. "Sasuke, did your previous master beat you when you looked at him?" Itachi had wondered before, but the way Sasuke had just reacted made him want to ask.

Sasuke whimpered again and nodded hesitantly, shrinking against the floor as if trying to disappear. Itachi moved forward and pulled the boy into a warm embrace, momentarily ignoring Sasuke's startled squeak and ensuing weak struggles, and gently cupped the boy's chin. Sasuke's coal-grey eyes were wet with unshed tears and wide with terror, and he still did his best not to make eye contact with Itachi. "It's okay," Itachi said again. Sasuke still didn't look at him, but he stopped trying to get away, going limp in Itachi's grasp. "I wasn't mad at you, I was just thinking how you should express yourself more," Itachi whispered soothingly as he held Sasuke, and the younger's trembling eventually started to lesson. Soon Sasuke hesitantly returned the embrace, curling up in Itachi's arms and gripping his sleeve in a vice-grip. Somewhere along the line his body language changed from being afraid of Itachi to being comforted _by_ Itachi, and the elder didn't question the little fingers wound onto the sleeve of his jacket. Sasuke started to calm down, and his shaking stopped completely.

"S-sorry," Sasuke apologized quietly a minute later, as he always did when he had an episode. Itachi smiled slightly.

"It's okay. I understand that you're jumpy."

Sasuke shifted slightly, turning around on Itachi's lap so that they faced each other and Sasuke's legs were on either side of Itachi's waist. Sasuke wound his arms timidly around Itachi's neck and leaned against the larger male, burying his face in his shoulder.

"Thank you."

The words were so quiet, Itachi almost missed them. But he didn't, and he smiled softly and wrapped his arms around the younger Uchiha's small form again. "You're welcome." _I would do anything for you, Sasuke. _

The two of them sat like that for at least five minutes, just listening to Sasuke's heartbeat slow. Itachi started stroking Sasuke's hair, and Sasuke sighed contentedly and snuggled closer, surrendering himself to the sensation.

"M-master Itachi?"

Itachi looked down in surprise. Sasuke hadn't yet initiated a conversation with him, probably because of his prior training to only speak when spoken to. Sasuke looked a little nervous to be talking without permission, and he cast a careful look at Itachi to gauge his reaction.

"Yes, Sasuke?" Itachi said with a warm smile. Encouraged, Sasuke said,

"Um, I was wondering if you still wanted to, you know…" he trailed off, and a light blush dusted his cheeks. Itachi smirked in amusement; even though they'd fucked multiple times since the first time, Sasuke was still shy about it.

"You are so cute," Itachi whispered to him. Sasuke shivered when Itachi's breath tickled his exposed neck. The older Uchiha tipped Sasuke's head back and kissed him softly, hand sliding to cup the back of his neck. Sasuke kissed back slowly, then with more force as he grew impatient. Itachi chuckled against his mouth. "Someone's impatient today."

Sasuke didn't respond to that, instead pulling back and gazing at Itachi with a lustful, pleading look that clearly said _fuck me. _The expression was just so submissive and beautiful, and Sasuke was just so adorable, Itachi didn't even bother back.

In a single moment the larger male had grabbed Sasuke and twisted the two of them so that Sasuke landed on his back on the kitchen floor, and Itachi over top of him, a predatorily growl making its way between his teeth. Sasuke didn't have time to gasp or even _think _about being frightened; Itachi swooped down and kissed him roughly, dominatingly, demanding submission and obedience.

Sasuke opened his mouth when Itachi's tongue prodded at his lips, and the two of them kissed like they'd never kissed before – their tongues danced and fought, hot, wet muscles rubbing against each other and tasting one another. Sasuke went limp and let Itachi have his way, loving the way his seme's tongue mapped out the cavern of his mouth, the way the older raven completely took over. One of them moaned – or maybe both, Itachi wasn't sure – and the sound was lost amidst the shallow pants and intermingling tongues.

"Aahn…" Sasuke moaned through the kiss. Itachi's hands started wandering, sliding down the younger's neck and body till they found the hem of Sasuke's pants and began to fiddle with them. Sasuke groaned as one of Itachi's fingers slipped under the hem, sliding sensually across the smooth, pale flesh, teasing the flesh that was so close to the place where he really wanted to be touched. "Master…" Itachi's other hand came up to grip Sasuke's hair, tilting his head back for Itachi to lick and nip gently. Sasuke shuddered underneath him, mewling quietly at Itachi's touches. The older Uchiha ran his tongue over Sasuke's throat once more, causing yet another quivering gasp, before his other hand dipped lower, taking a hold of Sasuke's member.

"Aah – Gah!" Sasuke yelled out, his entire body arching into Itachi's hand. Itachi rubbed his finger over the head, toying with the slit, and Sasuke's entire body quaked as he screamed again. "Ooh, aahh! Master!" He continued to cry out and moan wantonly as Itachi took a hold of his dick fully and began pumping him, sliding his dark fingernails gently over the sensitive organ and squeezing lightly.

Itachi paused briefly and ordered, "Pants. Off."

Sasuke didn't hesitate this time, in fact he seemed almost eager as he shimmied out of his pants and boxers and let them drop to the floor. For good measure he slipped out of his shirt as well, noting that Itachi-sama hummed in approval at the complete removal of clothing.

The smaller raven squeaked in surprise when Itachi pounced on him and scooped him up in his arms. Then, after a blink of ninja speed, Sasuke was being lowered onto the bed in Itachi's room and said ninja was climbing over him, eyeing him hungrily.

The bed creaked as Itachis shifted lower and, ignoring Sasuke's questioning glance, took the boy's member in his mouth. Sasuke tensed and gasped, spine curving upwards and hips bucking towards the hot friction. Itachi smirked and ran his tongue over the slit, enjoying the cry of pleasure it drew from Sasuke.

The older Uchiha grabbed Sasuke's hips and held them down, concentrating on the task at hand. Itachi began to bob his head, sucking lightly and occasionally scraping his teeth over the boy's sensitive member; Sasuke was a whining, moaning mess in a matter of seconds. "Ah – Master, Master, Master – oh, Aah! Yeah!" Sasuke gasped and cried out, and Itachi smirked around his erection before deep-throating him. Sasuke screamed and came, and Itachi withdrew a split second before the boy's pale white essence exploded from the tip of his cock. The boy shook and trembled from the force of the pleasure, and Itachi almost came just looking at him – panting for breath, his eyes glazed over, a submissive expression on his delicate, beautiful face and his legs spread.

"Fuck, you're so beautiful," Itachi whispered. He waited a moment for Sasuke to recover, and when the smaller raven was breathing regularly again, he caught his former slave's eye and jerked his head to the floor. Sasuke complied, sliding off the bed and to the floor, then to his knees. Itachi got off as well and stood before Sasuke. He went to undo his belt and pants but Sasuke beat him to it; the younger's nimble fingers quickly undid the clasp on his belt, brushing against Itachi's erection as he did so. Itachi strangled a moan and helped the boy yank his pants and underwear down.

Sasuke's eyes widened when Itachi's erection came into view. True, he had done this a few times before, but the size still managed to make him nervous.

Itachi kicked his pants away and leaned back on the bed with Sasuke settled between his legs on the floor. Sasuke nuzzled the pale thigh in front of him, waiting for his master to take control like he always did. He didn't have long to wait; almost immediately Itachi gripped the boy's hair and guided his mouth to his erection, and Sasuke leaned forward and licked the tip, then took the head into his mouth. Itachi moaned as Sasuke's pink, luscious lips opened to accommodate his girth, and then closed along his length, sucking. The little pink tongue flicked against his slit and swirled around the tip, and Itachi hissed in pleasure.

Sasuke moaned himself as he felt Itachi's member slide deeper into his mouth, and he did his best to hollow out his cheeks and suck. He bobbed his head, once, and the sensations that it caused made Itachi's control snap.

In a split second the older was off the bed and standing before Sasuke, without taking his dick out of Sasuke's mouth.

The elder Uchiha grabbed Sasuke's hair roughly with both hands and thrust into his throat, holding the younger boy onto his erection. Sasuke did his best not to gag and took his master in as far as he could, trying to override his body's gag reflex. Itachi didn't seem to mind though – he simply pulled out and thrust back in, ignoring it when Sasuke gaged on the length sliding past the back of his throat.

Instead of disliking this treatment, the rough handling made Sasuke's own cock twitch in arousal, and he hummed onto Itachi's erection because he knew his master liked it.

"Oh – God!" Itachi gasped as he pounded into Sasuke's mouth. "Your mouth feels so good, brat. You're such a little slut – Aah – my cock feels so good buried in your throat. Hhmm…"

Itachi jerked Sasuke's head forward further and thrust at the same time so that Sasuke's lips were pressed up against his stomach and his balls were against his lower lip. "Ah, Fuck." Itachi thrust faster, and Sasuke noted happily that he was managing to suppress his gaging quite well.

Itachi sped up in his thrusting, going in faster and faster, harder and harder, deeper and deeper.

Soon, with a few, final thrusts, Itachi shoved Sasuke's head far onto his cock and came, his essence shooting out of his dick and into Sasuke's throat, forcing Sasuke to swallow if he wanted to breath.

The uke gulped his seme's seed down quickly, sucking gently to get all of the substance. Itachi sagged against the bed but other than that didn't react much.

"You're – getting better," Itachi said through quiet pants.

Sasuke gave an honestly happy smile at the praise. "Thank you, Master." His old owner had never said anything directly to him besides insults and orders, so compliments were a new thing for Sasuke. He was very glad, though, to know that he was pleasing his master. After all, if he didn't do well enough, Master Itachi might not want to keep him anymore and get rid of him, and Sasuke wouldn't like that. Sasuke liked Itachi-sama.

Sasuke reached up hesitantly from his position at Itachi's feet and lightly touched his master's leg. He then moved closer and snuggled in, resting his shoulder against Itachi's calves and his head on his lap. Itachi was a little surprised, but that quickly gave way to being pleased; Sasuke was almost as afraid to initiate contact with him as he was to call him by his name, so this was progress. Itachi rubbed Sasuke's back gently, toying with his hair with the other, and Sasuke relaxed.

Whenever Sasuke took a step like this – starting a conversation, or touching his master – he was always a little scared. Sure, Master Itachi had said that it was fine, but there was always the chance that Sasuke would overstep some boundary, or do something he wasn't supposed to, and then Itachi-sama wold finally get angry at him and beat him. Plus, life-long habits are extremely hard to unlearn. But so far, nothing like that had happened, so the boy kept making small, albeit hesitant, advances.

Soon Itachi and Sasuke had recovered enough from their fun to be ready for more.

Itachi motioned Sasuke up onto the bed, and the boy hopped up and climbed on top of Itachi when motioned to do so. Itachi lay on his back and moved his partner so that Sasuke was on his hands and knees, his legs spread on either side of Itachi's hips and his hands on the older man's chest. Itachi pulled Sasuke down for a kiss, whilst his fingers made their way down to the boy's tiny, exposed hole. Sasuke gasped and shivered when Itachi's fingers circled around his ass but didn't go in, playing with the tight ring of muscle.

"Master…" he whined, bucking his hips slightly. Itachi smirked and pulled his hands away. He then smacked Sasuke's butt, enjoying the squeak and following moan that Sasuke made and the look of his tight, round, pale ass glowing pink. Sasuke's dick twitched in pleasure and hardened at the slight abuse, and he moaned loudly as his master slapped him again.

Itachi stopped for a moment to grab the lube sitting on the dresser. He squirted some on his hand and rubbed in all over his fingers, feeling Sasuke's lustful gaze on him.

He sat up halfway, so that Sasuke was straddling his waist with his legs propped up against the top of the bed, half kneeling around Itachi's legs. Itachi didn't like how the position made it hard to see, so he gently pushed Sasuke to the side and then turned around so he was behind the smaller boy.

Itachi opened his mouth tell Sasuke to spread his legs, but Sasuke did it without being told. He got down on his elbows and knees and spread his thighs wide, giving Itachi a clear view of his little puckered ass hole and his dick. Itachi moved forward again and smirked as Sasuke cast him an anxious glance, perhaps apprehensive about taking the initiative like that. Itachi gently caressed his uke's fleshy cheek with the hand that wasn't lubed up as a reaffirmation, and Sasuke made a small sound of pleasure at the contact.

Itachi let go for a moment and just looked at Sasuke, spread out and flushed on the bed, just waiting for his dick in his ass. Sasuke was sweating slightly, and his skin glistened like pale snow in the dim lighting. His legs were spread wide, his ass high in the air, and his little pink hole was twitching in anticipation.

All in all, he looked totally fuckable. Briefly Itachi had the urge to get a vibrator and stick it up that lovely tiny ass – perhaps in coalition with his earlier idea of cat ears and a collar – but decided against it. Sasuke was still probably a bit new to sex to try that.

Itachi didn't wait any longer; he moved forward again and traced once lube-covered finger around Sasuke's hole – he shivered, and cried out when Itachi pushed it into him. Itachi slid his finger into Sasuke all the way, enjoying the way the boy's muscles tensed and contracted around him. He then began pumping, in and out, harder and faster, until Sasuke was moaning and clutching at the sheets. He added a second finger, and his member hardened at the scream Sasuke made. "Aah, Master! Oh, Master, please…"

He didn't bother with a third finger; he was feeling impatient, and judging by the way Sasuke rocked back on his lips and begged, he probably was to. He pulled out and shifted closer, then lubed up his cock.

Sasuke shifted his legs wider and Itachi settled between them. The older Uchiha grasped Sasuke's hips in a strong grip that Sasuke knew as impossible for him to break, and Sasuke almost moaned at just that small demonstration of domination. He was helpless and he knew it; beyond this point, everything was up to Itachi.

Itachi grinned at how his uke shuddered when he touched him. Then the older Uchiha positioned his cock at Sasuke's entrance and teased it by not quite entering, only rubbing against the surface. Sasuke whined and tried to buck back against his member, but Itachi's grip on his hips wouldn't let him move. "Nnng!" Sasuke moaned, clenching his ass and sliding his legs as wiode as they would go. "Please, Master!"

"Please what, slave?" Itachi said in a low, domineering tone. He tightened his grip on Sasuke's hips.

"Please – please enter me," Sasuke gasped, he didn't know how much longer he could take this! It was maddening, having Itachi-sama's cock positioned against his ass but not inside it. "Please fuck me, Master, please!"

Sasuke's begging went straight to Itachi's arousal, and in the next second, Itachi had thrust forward with his hips, forcing his large member into Sasuke's tiny ass. Sasuke screamed as his ass stretched, slowly swallowing Itachi's cock. Sasuke threw his head back and screamed again as Itachi entered him completely, fully encompassing his length inside the smaller, skinnier boy.

Itachi gasped at the tight heat surrounding his dick. "Sasuke, you feel so good," he mumbled as he pulled out and slammed back in again, drawing another screech from the small raven.

Itachi set a gruesome pace, going fast and hard. Neither of them felt like waiting; tonight was going to be fast and furious. Itachi thrust his dick into Sasuke's tight ass over and over, enjoying the way the spikey-haired raven looked all spread out and moaning, rocking back and forth with the force of his movements.

"Aah – Master! MASTER!" Sasuke cried out a moment later when Itachi's cock hit his sweet spot. "Aahhnn – AAH!" his cries became incoherent after that, just a jumble of 'aah's and 'master's.

Itachi grunted when he felt his orgasm coming on, but he pushed it back so as to longer fuck Sasuke.

The older Uchiha sped up, fucking Sasuke's hole faster and harder, and was rewarded with Sasuke arching his back and screaming, tossing his head back. "Aah, Master! Aaahhn, please, Master, harder! Please, harder! Faster! AAHHHN!" Sasuke shuddered and jerked on the bed, overloading with sensation, but Itachi held him still and kept pounding into his ass hole.

_Submissive to the end, _Itachi thought affectionately. Then all thought fled his mind as Sasuke's walls clamped down around his member and he came, seed spurting all over the sheets and his chest. Itachi groaned and threw his head back as he came to, shoving his entire cock into Sasuke, his balls pressed up against his ass and his entire length inside the younger raven. They came together for a long, pleasure-filled moment in which they both saw stars. Sasuke was screaming out Itachi's name, and Itachi's cock was pumping his seed deep into Sasuke's ass.

They slowly came down from their high, still shaken by the pleasure of mere moments before. Itachi pulled out, causing Sasuke to moan slightly at the movement in his abused ass. The older Uchiha lay down on the bed next to his uke, and Sasuke's knees buckled, collapsing. They lay like that for a moment, panting, just staring at each other. Then Sasuke realised that he was meeting Itachi-sama's gaze head-on, and he looked away immediately.

He shuddered slightly as he recalled the last time he'd looked his owner in the eye – it hadn't been intentional, nor had it been defiant in any way, but old master-sama had seen it as Sasuke overstepping his rights as slave. He had whipped him till he'd begged for mercy, and then kept whipping. Sasuke didn't even remember how he'd gotten out alive, he just remembered waking up in the basement where he slept with his back feeling like it was on fire.

He hadn't been able to walk for a week, and he couldn't work for a good month.

So Sasuke looked down quickly, breaking eye contact with Master Itachi. He knew it was stupid – Itachi-sama was a _good _master – but he still flinched with a yelp when Itachi reached out to him.

Itachi's face grew sad as he saw Sasuke cringing, sinking into the mattress as if he wished he could just disappear into it. "Hey. What's that for?" he asked gently, reached forward and wiping a tear off Sasuke's cheek. "You can trust me, Sasuke. And also, as long as you're here, you're allowed to look people in the eye. No one will hurt you."

Sasuke nodded, trembling slightly. "I – I know," he said with a hiccup. "It's just… hard to forget."

Itachi's eyes hardened slightly as his thoughts turned to Sasuke's previous master. _If I ever find him, I'm going to tear his balls of and staple them to his forehead, _he thought firmly. _And then I'll rip his guts out and hang him with them. And probably some other stuff. _Itachi wasn't usually one for violent thoughts or actions, but if he ever found Sasuke's last owner he'd make an exception or two. _Or a thousand… _

"Master?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmm?" Itachi said.

"Do you…" he trailed off, obviously a little nervous about what he wanted to ask. _Old Master would kill me for asking something like this. _

"Yes?" Itachi said, moving closer so that he could pull Sasuke against him.

"Do you… think you'll keep me? I mean, for a long time. Because old master-sama had me since I was a kid, but I know that most slaves only stay with one master for a matter of years, and…" Sasuke paused, and then forged ahead. "And I'm not that valuable. There are better slaves out there."

"You're afraid I'm going to find someone I like more and get rid of you," Itachi finished.

Sasuke nodded, new tears forming in his eyes at the very thought.

"Sasuke," Itachi said seriously, sitting up and pulling the smaller male with him, "when I asked you to be my boyfriend I made you my equal. It's not about me 'keeping you' anymore. You're completely free, Sasuke. You could get up and walk out the door right now if you wanted. Although," and here Itachi's voice grew almost tight, "I'm hoping you don't want to do that." He took hold of Sasuke's shoulders and held him at arm's length to see him better, his tone growing thick. "I would never let you go, Sasuke. Even if for some reason you don't want me anymore, I will always want you. I will protect you and provide for you, and, if it's what you want, I will let you go. You're not a slave anymore, Sasuke. And I –" Itachi broke off his long speech with a gulp. He'd just been about to say _it. _"I really care about you. So don't be afraid, please. I'm not lying when I say I will never hurt you. You're free, Sasuke. _Free. _And if you want, you can be mine. But only if you want."

Tears were streaming down Sasuke's cheeks by that point, and when Itachi stopped he threw himself into the older raven's arms. Sobs wracked his body, and he wound his thin arms tightly around Itachi's waist and squeezed, as if he never intended to let go. "I – I want that," he said between sobs. "To be yours."

Itachi smiled and hugged him back, ever-so-gently tucking a strand of black hair behind his ear. "I love you." He whispered the words, but they were so plainly clear. Sasuke looked up at him, disbelieving, a shadow of doubt and fear still in those charcoal eyes. "All I ask," Itachi said, softly running a hand over the little raven's face, "is that you give me a chance to prove it."

"O- Okay," Sasuke said hesitantly. Itachi smiled again. They sat like that for a few minutes, Itachi just holding Sasuke, letting the little former slave boy cry and calm down.

"Um… Master Itachi?" Sasuke's soft voice asked after he'd stopped crying.

"Just Itachi," Itachi corrected. "I know you're not used to it, but we're equals. It'd be like me calling you Master Sasuke."

Sasuke paused at the title, his mind not clearly comprehending the honorific paired with his name. He shook his head as if to un-confuse it.

"That just sounds weird."

Itachi smirked. "Now you know how I feel."

"Alright then," Sasuke said. "Itachi?" He cast an apprehenvice glance at the older raven, but Itachi just smiled widely, an expression that he never wore in public.

"What was it you wanted to say?"

"Oh. Um…" Sasuke hesitated again, and went on at Itachi's encouraging nod. "I was just wondering… would you mind if I ate more?"

Itachi blanched, completely surprised by the sudden topic change. "Ah – not at all. Why?" His tone suddenly went a shade darker. "Was your old master starving you so you'd be skinny? He wasn't just underfeeding you?"

"He said no one liked a fat slave," Sasuke mumbled.

Itachi's world went dark for a split second with the force of his anger. "Well, I don't care how much you eat," he told Sasuke. "I wouldn't care if you were the size of an elephant."

The nervous look slid off Sasuke's face in favour of a small chuckle at the mental image. "Well, I wasn't thinking _that _much food…"

The two laughed together for a moment, before Sasuke untangled himself from Itachi's arms. "May I go wash up?"

"Of course," Itachi replied. "You live here to now, you don't have to ask."

Sasuke _almost _responded with a 'yes, master' but restrained himself. That was going to be a hard habit to unlearn.

Itachi watched lazily as Sasuke got off the bed and found his clothes, and then went into the room's bathroom.

Itachi knew that getting Sasuke to trust him was going to be hard. Hell, it might be the hardest thing he's ever done, and Sasuke would probably never become outgoing or chatty. But he was going to try.

The older raven was drawn from his thoughts by a loud knock on the front door. He looked up in surprise – it was only around ten-thirty in the morning, he didn't usually get visitors till the evening.

Itachi got off the bed and located his underwear and pants, which he quickly climbed into. He was still wearing his shirt, so he just smoothed it out and ran his fingers through his hair a few times as he left the room and headed for the entry-way.

_It's no good, _he thought as he passed a window and caught sight of his reflection. _It's totally obvious what I've been doing. _Shrugging it off, he decided to get the door anyway.

Itachi walked the last few paces to the door and unlocked it, but before he could open it, the door barreled open and a person stepped into the house.

* * *

><p><strong>Aaand, end chapter. <strong>

**As always, I want to thank my reviewers from the bottom of my heart, you guys are the only reason I keep going. **

**Reviews make my fingers move! So in other words, the more people that reveiw, the faster the next chapter comes out!**

／l、  
>ﾞ（ﾟ､ ｡ ７<br>l、ﾞ ~ヽ  
>じしf_, )ノ<p>

**Thank you all for reading. See you next time!**

**- TheCrimsonKiss, proud partitioner of the Yaoi Rebellion**


	3. Repercussions

**Greetings, everyone. **

**I want to personally thank everyone who reviewed: missbip0lar, TheGnRFangirl, XxpwnagexX, Cynder81, and my five anonymous reviewers, ****songo2012, lessthanthree, NyaNya, MsAmyLeeUchiha and dark angel. Even if your review is not verified it means a ton to me. Thanks you all so much, you people are the only reason I keep at this. If not for your support this would have remained a oneshot. My life has sucked shit recently, but whenever I think of you lot it makes me smile, as sappy as that sounds :) **

**Warnings: Yaoi lemon, graphic, slave-master relationship, toys, BDSM, Uchihacest (somewhat, because they don't know it...) and all that. Don't like don't read, simple****.**

**Without further ado, here is chapter three. **

* * *

><p>Itachi walked the last few paces to the door and unlocked it, but before he could open it, the door barreled open and a person stepped into the house.<p>

"ITACHI!" Naruto bellowed. "Where've you BEEN? You missed work on Friday, and you didn't meet up with the gang and I last night like we planned! Where were you?"

Itachi winced slightly at the loud sound. His friend, it would seem, had only two volumes – loud and _very _loud.

"Lower your voice," Itachi said coldly, thinking of Sasuke upstairs. "Why are you even here?"

"I came to check up on ya!" Naruto said, slinging an arm around Itachi's shoulder. "We get worried when you disappear without a trace."

"You could have just called," Itachi stated flatly, moving Naruto's arm from his person.

"I did!" Naruto said, still in that obnoxiously noisy voice. "You didn't pick up!"

Itachi backtracked. "I didn't?" Maybe he'd forgotten to charge his phone again…

"Nope. So what were you doing?"

"Um, I was…" damn, how did he explain this? His friends knew he was gay, but he'd never actually _been _with anyone before, that they knew of. Besides, he wasn't sure how Sasuke would react to a stranger, and if he told Naruto he would almost certainly want to meet him… Still, Naruto was waiting for an answer. He gave a lame, "I was occupied."

"Well _obviously," _Naruto said, gesturing to his rumpled clothing and loose hair, which, as far as Naruto could remember seeing it, had always been in a neat ponytail. "I guess the question isn't _what _you were doing so much as _with whom." _The blonde smirked; he had the Uchiha backed into a corner and he knew it.

Itachi sighed. "I'll tell you later, okay?"

Naruto sighed, the curiosity not leaving his azure eyes. Still, he knew that once the Uchiha had made his mind up there was no changing git, so the blonde would have to wait. "Fine."

"Was there anything else you wanted?"

"Naw, I was just checking to see if you were still alive."

"Hn."

"Oh, don't start with the hn."

"Hn."

"'Tachi!"

"Are you done yet?"

"Are you that eager to get rid of me?"

"Would it make you leave faster if I said yes?"

"Maybe…"

"Well then, yes."

"You wound me."

"Good."

Naruto pouted and Itachi stared him down. Eventually blue eyes couldn't take staring into red anymore and flickered away.

"Alright, alright, I'll leave you and… whoever your fuck partner is alone." Itachi's eyes narrowed at Sasuke being referred to as a mere 'fuck partner' but let it slide.

"See you at work."

"You coming tomorrow?"

"No. But I'll be there Monday."

"Okay. The other agents miss ya, you know."

"Hn. I can't say the same."

"Course not, you're an Uchiha."

Itachi smirked. "Goodnight."

"'Night." Naruto walked back to the door and pulled it open. "Later."

Itachi locked the door behind the Uzumaki and turned back to the stairs. He took them two at a time and went back to his bedroom, and when he entered Sasuke was just coming out of the bathroom.

"Mas – Itachi-sama," Sasuke said, catching himself. Itachi smiled.

"Ready for bed?"

Sasuke nodded, looking absolutely adorable in a short bathrobe with his hair flattened from the shower. Itachi crossed the room and slid the window open an inch or two, and Sasuke closed the bathroom door and pulled the cum-covered sheets off the bed. Itachi found clean linens in the closet, and Sasuke helped him put them on once he'd returned from throwing the dirty ones in the washer.

When they were done Itachi climbed in bed and motioned Sasuke in as well; the little raven hopped up beside him and gladly snuggled into Itachi's side.

Sasuke was still habitually nervous about the close contact, but he was steadily getting better at accepting Itachi's affectionate gestures, and was even beginning to return them. He still waited every night to be invited into the bed, as if afraid that one day Itachi would change his mind and make him sleep on the floor, but his hesitations were getting shorter and his fear less pronounced.

Itachi could hardly wait for the day when the small raven could stay by his side as an equal, with no fear or worries or doubt overshadowing everything. Still, a soft smile graced Itachi's face as he stared down at the younger Uchiha. _He's made a lot of progress, _Itachi thought, remembering the first time he'd slept with Sasuke in the same bed.

* * *

><p>(Flashback: Two and a half days before, the morning after the first chapterlemon)

Sasuke awoke slowly. He was sore, and his lower regions hurt… had master-sama beaten him again? Sasuke couldn't recall… then his memories of Itachi-sama came back – how he's showed up and claimed him, how he'd brought Sasuke to his house, and then, last night, how he'd had sex with him. The images shocked him into full awareness.

Sasuke blushed at the memories running through his mind and opened his eyes, fully expecting to find himself lying on the floor beside his new Master's bed, or maybe in the spare room that Itachi-master-sama had generously let him use. But the surface he was one was too soft for floor… perhaps Master had forgotten to push him off the bed? Sasuke was notexpecting to find himself lying curled up in his master's arms, his own arms wound around Itachi-sama's neck. His eyes widened, and he tensed fearfully at the closeness – _old Master would beat me for getting this close without permission. _Sasuke remembered what Itachi-master-sama had said before they'd gone to sleep – boyfriend instead of slave, he'd said – but Sasuke knew better than to get his hopes up over that. His former Master had always said kind things he didn't mean, before abusing Sasuke when he believed them.

The younger male tried to move away from his owner's grasp carefully, thinking that perhaps if he could escape the bed without Master noticing then he could avoid being hit when Itachi-master-sama woke up. Unfortunately, however, as soon as he moved Itachi stirred, and a tiny whimper of fear made its way across Sasuke's lips. Thankfully, though, the older male shifted slightly and then stilled again.

Sasuke tried to stifle his trembling as he debated his options. Stay still; get Itachi-sama mad at him when he woke up, or move and risk waking him up sooner.

Soon, however, the choice was taken out of his hands when Itachi's obsidian eyes slid open. His gaze flickered to Sasuke, still naked and curled against his chest, and Sasuke shut his eyes in fear when he moved.

_Here it comes. _Sasuke waited to be pushed off the bed, or just hit right where he lay, or maybe molested again – perhaps with more pain involved than last time – and without even realizing it his entire body began to tremble again. Sasuke just hoped that Itachi-master-sama wasn't in a terribly bad mood in the mornings, like his old master always used to be.

_Sasuke? _Itachi thought in confusion. He felt the pale, nude form shrink away from his touch, and of course, his first instinct was to hold on tighter. Sasuke felt the arms around him contract and whimpered slightly, sending Itachi a pleading glance and ducking his head. Sasuke's hand came up without his noticing and pressed against Itachi's chest in an effort to create some space, and Itachi, realizing that it was the close proximity that was frightening the boy, let him go.

As soon as he was released Sasuke shimmied to the edge of the bed and slid to the ground, then folded to his knees and bowed low. "M-master-sama," he said, a quiver in his voice. "I'm s-sorry, I wasn't sure if you wanted me to stay or not… I'm sorry, I should have left, please don't hit me." a new thought crossed Sasuke's mind, and he bowed lower, fear increasing. What if he was supposed to wake Itachi-sama up at a certain time, for work perhaps? He hadn't thought to ask… Sasuke desperately hoped that Itachi-master-sama wasn't late for anything because of him; that would get him angry with Sasuke for sure.

Itachi sat up, still slightly sleepy. He observed Sasuke groveling on the floor for a moment and had to suppress the urge to start scaring the boy again… doing that was just _so _fun. Yes, Itachi was a bit of a sadist. But, the elder reflected, he really did like the kid, so he wouldn't frighten him anymore, even if it was fun.

From the ground, Sasuke's fear was mounting by the second. Past experience had taught him that the longer a punishment or blow took in coming, the harder and crueler it would be. So when Itachi flipped the blankets back and stood quickly, Sasuke started violently, a quiet sob escaping his lips.

Itachi-master-sama, however, instead of getting angry at him, only went down on one knee so that they were almost equal in height. I say _almost _equal in height because Sasuke had learned from uncountable punishments and beatings that it was a very bad sign when his master got too close to him; he cowered lower, pressing his form into the hard wood flooring in an attempt to create distance between himself and Itachi. His body language reminded the older Uchiha of a cringing dog that is used to being struck.

Sasuke sent Itachi a quick, frightened glance to try and judge his owner's mood before flinching back again and ducking his head, biting his lip.

_Damn, he's hot on his knees like this, _Itachi thought, a plethora of kinky images coming to mind.

"M-master-sama…" Sasuke whispered, an adorable and submissive note of pleading in his voice. "I'm sorry I slept in your bed Master, I didn't mean to, I'll change the sheets and all- Please no, Master!" the last two words came with a cringe as a result of Itachi's reaching forward and gently taking Sasuke's chin in his hand, tilting his head up.

Dark memories of Sasuke's last master doing the exact same thing came rushing back, and he whimpered. Itachi-sama said something, but Sasuke missed it – he was too caught up in re-living the hundreds of times that his old master would take his face, just like this, and then slap him with the other hand. Sasuke hated that, because it meant that he couldn't even flinch away from the blows. Former Master-sama only held him still before hitting him when he was _really _angry. If Sasuke tried to get away he'd be whipped, so the boy simply did his best not to fight the grip on his face.

Back in the present, Itachi was slightly worried. He ran his thumb gently over Sasuke's cheek and was disturbed by how even the small, tender gesture caused Sasuke to shake and whimper again, his thin frame bent into a submissive mixture of kneeling, bowing and cringing.

_I changed my mind, _Itachi thought. _I hate frightening Sasuke. _

The older Uchiha whispered soothing nothings into the younger's ear and tried to move closer to pull him into en embrace, but stopped when Sasuke flinched away from him even more. His fingers left Sasuke's cheek, and as if waiting for his master to stop touching him before he moved, Sasuke's head snapped back down into a low bowing position, his nose grazing the floor.

"S-sorry, I'm sorry," he whimpered, his voice wavering. Itachi frowned slightly; what did Sasuke think he'd done wrong again? He'd already forgotten, but obviously Sasuke thought he was angry about it.

Being gentle so far hadn't got him anywhere, so Itachi decided to try a slightly different approach.

"Stand up," he ordered, rising himself. Sasuke obeyed him immediately, still trembling slightly.

Itachi realized blatantly that they were both still naked, and, ignoring Sasuke for the moment, he took a couple steps to the left and took a housecoat off a hook on the wall. He approached Sasuke again and quickly swung the garment over his skinny shoulders, earning him first a flinch and then a questioning glance from wide, frightened dark eyes. _What are you going to do to me_? it said.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," Itachi answered.

Sasuke was confused first, and on his guard secondly. The smaller raven knew of some masters who liked to be kind to their pets first off, and then turn cruel after – he had seen his previous master's friend do it to one of his slaves. He had pretended to be kind to the terrified child, and when he had earned the slave's trust, he had broken it by raping him. So Sasuke was wary of Itachi; regardless of what the older Uchiha said, he still owned Sasuke. That meant that Sasuke was still subject to his every whim, that the young boy's fate was still in a stranger's hands.

Still, there was always the chance that Itachi-master-sama was sincere and didn't mean to harm him, but Sasuke was still frightened of him.

So far, Itachi-sama was so different from old master-sama, Sasuke was having trouble predicting what would make him angry and what wouldn't. Still, the younger raven wasn't complaining –he'd gone an entire four days without being beaten or struck once, which was longer than he'd ever gone in his life. He'd also had more to eat in those four days than he was used to getting in two weeks, as well as a place to sleep that wasn't cold, wet and drafty.

Itachi sighed slightly as Sasuke nodded and looked relieved, pulling the covering that Itachi had slung over his shoulders closer around his thin frame. He'd been hoping for a more positive reaction… but he could wait. The boy was still very skittish and shy.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's gaze snapped upwards before flickering submissively downwards, nervous again. "Yes, Master?"

The elder considered correcting the title but decided to leave it for later. "Are you hungry?"

Sasuke's eyes widened, and he shook his head quickly. "N-no, Master." Itachi sent him a look that said clearly, _are you lying? _

Sasuke hesitated, obviously unsure what the correct response was. He _was _quite hungry, but then again, he wasn't used to eating more than once in three days, if his master was feeling generous. It was quite possible that Itachi-master-sama was testing him to see if he'd admit to being hungry.

"You can speak honestly here, Sasuke," Itachi said.

Sasuke glanced up at his master nervously before ducking his chin and saying submissively, "The food you have given me is more than adequate, Master."

Mable-like skin creased as Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke, how often did your previous master feed you?"

Sasuke was surprised at the abrupt question but answered quickly. "Once every two or three days, Master," the boy replied.

Almost without his noticing, Itachi's hand curled into a fist. He made an effort to hide the anger in his tone when he spoke again. "Well, I'm here now, and I say that you eat regularly, on a daily basis. I'd say three meals a day, but your body might not like the sudden change… we'll start with two and go from there, shall we?"

Sasuke stared at his master in shock. Really, two whole meals per day? Not per week? He must have heard wrong… and yet, he knew he didn't. "Th-thank you, Master!" he said, bowing.

Itachi smiled and ruffled the raven hair affectionately, encouraged when Sasuke didn't flinch. "It's basic human rights, no need to thank me. You should expect it."

"But – I'm a slave," Sasuke said, confused. "I'm not supposed to expect anything from my Masters."

"You're not a slave anymore," Itachi told him. "Or at least, not in practice. Still in paperwork, I suppose, but I can work on getting that fixed." Sasuke's charcoal eyes were suddenly wet, and his lip trembled slightly. "Sasuke?" Itachi said, worried he's said something to make his little raven upset.

"Did you – did you mean it?" Sasuke stammered, raising his head from its subserviently lowered position. "Did you mean it last night, when you asked me to be your boyfriend?" Too late he realised that he forgot to add 'master', but Itachi replied before he could worry about it.

"Of course I meant it," Itachi said, raising a hand and gently caressing Sasuke's pale neck. "As long as you live in this house, Sasuke, you are no longer considered a possession." Sasuke shivered and unconsciously leaned into the touch on his neck.

The younger raven's eyes slid shut as Itachi-master-sama embraced him, one hand cupping the back of his neck and the other sliding around his thin waist. Itachi planted a soft, undemanding kiss on Sasuke's lips, and Sasuke smiled slightly.

He liked it there, the smaller raven realized. Sasuke had never liked anywhere, or any_one, _and no one had ever asked him what he wanted. Then Itachi-sama had shown up. Suddenly the person in control of his life no longer hit him or starved him; Itachi-sama owned him, but Sasuke, for once, was actually content belonging to someone.

Itachi smiled as the little raven relaxed into the embrace, melting into his arms.

(END FLASHBACK)

* * *

><p>Lying in bed, Itachi smiled as Sasuke snuggled into him, just like he had back then. Sasuke glanced up at his maste – at <em>Itachi <em>– and had to resist the urge to look down immediately. Itachi leaned down just slightly and brushed Sasuke's forehead with his face, letting him know it was okay. Sasuke smiled at the small contact and leaned back into Itachi's embrace, relaxing fully.

Sasuke was less frightened of Itachi-sama these days, except when he sometimes moved too quickly and startled the younger, but that was only ever by accident. He seldom worried about Itachi intentionally hurting him anymore; the older Uchiha's gentle words and assurances had slowly but surely began to sink in.

Sasuke was still obedient and totally submissive to any order or desire the older had, but he was motivated less by fear and more by affection and respect. He was still cautious sometimes, and fear did still catch him off-guard, but ever-so-slowly, he was beginning to trust Itachi.

Sasuke sighed in content as Itachi's arms hugged tighter for a moment, and Sasuke laid a hesitant kiss on the elder's bare shoulder. Itachi's sharingan eyes softened, before the ruby orbs faded to black and closed as sleepiness took over. Sasuke's eyes also slid shut as he let his tiredness catch up with him, and the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

><p>The next day, Itachi woke first. His hold on the form curled into his arms squeezed possessively, before relaxing again. It was still unusual for Itachi, to wake up to the feeling of someone else in the bed with him – unusual, but pleasant.<p>

During the night, Sasuke had somehow managed to separate the top blanket from the sheet underneath, and was hopelessly tangled in the later. His arms were wound around Itachi's left forearm, which the older Uchiha had draped over the younger while they slept, and his small body was tucked neatly into Itachi's side, his back against Itachi's front.

Itachi gave a rare, honest smile as he observed the sleeping raven. He reached over and gently touched one of Sasuke's hair spikes.

Ever since seeing him, the older Uchiha had been curious about how the spikes of hair perched on top of Sasuke's head managed to stay in their upright position. However, Sasuke had been so flighty about having anyone's hands near his head and neck that Itachi hadn't asked or tried to figure it out for himself.

Still, the boy was asleep, and he was beginning to trust Itachi more, so the larger male allowed himself to poke softly at one of the raven spikes curiously; it bent and then sprang back into its original position. Itachi cocked his head at the offending piece of hair, looking uncommonly like a cat who has just been told that dogs hate water. Shouldn't hair flatten when squashed? Apparently Sasuke's hair defied the usual laws of gravity. Itachi ran his hand lightly over the back of Sasuke's head, smoothing all the spikes there at once; they all repeated the first's motion and sprung back up, refusing to flop down like hair was supposed to.

Sasuke shifted, and Itachi withdrew his hand quickly, not wanting to scare the boy so early in the morning. Even so, Itachi knew that Sasuke would probably wake up frightened anyway – it usually still took his lover a minute after he'd woken up to remember where he was and who he was with.

Proving him right, Sasuke's eyes flew open, and he sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes wide and his entire body radiating fear. He looked around for a panicked moment, before his gaze landed on Itachi.

"Morning," Itachi said softly. Sasuke tensed at first at seeing him, before he relaxed, the terror slowly fading from his eyes.

"Good morning, Master – I mean, Itachi." The smaller male sent Itachi an apologetic glance at the slip-up.

Itachi smiled at him gently in response, as if to say _don't worry about it. _"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, you?" Sasuke replied, sliding out of bed.

"Well enough."

Sasuke nodded and searched the floor for his clothes, which had been discarded somewhat recklessly during their bedroom romp the night before.

Itachi smirked as he thought about it. He had definitely enjoyed seeing Sasuke all spread out and moaning, staring at him with lust-glazed eyes, and hearing his gasps when he called him master… Okay, Itachi was getting hard again. _It's too early in the morning for this. _

Itachi forcefully willed the images away, along with his would-be boner. However, hardly had he successfully turned his mind away from dirty, perverted thoughts when he realized that Sasuke had moved and was standing right in front of him, a shy but adorable blush on his cheeks.

"Um, Master, if you want, I could…" Sasuke gestured awkwardly to the bulge located near the elder's crotch, "take care of that for you."

Itachi's eyes widened in surprise – Sasuke had yet to take the lead in their love-making, and it was obvious by the terse way the smaller male stood, slightly turned away with his head lowered, that it made him nervous. "Of course, if you don't want then I'm sorry I brought it up, I just thought…" Sasuke added quickly when Itachi took too long to respond, mistaking the older Uchiha's hesitation for irritation.

"Well, this is progress," Itachi said, reaching out for the younger boy. "You're taking the initiative – well done." Sasuke, glad that Itachi wasn't mad at him, immediately took his hand and joined him on the bed again. The small raven followed Itachi's guiding hands to sit on his lap, ass resting on Itachi's re-stiffening member.

"Oh gods, Sasuke," the older muttered when the younger shifted, rubbing his round backside against his master's erection. Seeing the elder's reaction, Sasuke did it again, shifting so that his clothed dick rubbed against Itachi's bare one. "You're a fast learner," Itachi said, his hand coming up to grip Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke smiled, then moaned as a ripple of desire went through him when Itachi's hard member rubbed between his ass cheeks. "Master, please can we…"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it a bit early for you? I mean, you _just _put those clothes back on."

Sasuke shook his head fervently. "No, not too early, I don't mind - I mean," he gulped, eyes widening, "if you want to, Master." Yikes, Sasuke thought, he'd almost forgotten his place and given an opinion on something. Thankfully he'd caught himself, and he was with Master Itachi, who probably wouldn't be angry with him over it. Still, he'd have to be careful – all this coddling was making him forget that even with Master Itachi's reassurances, he was still technically a slave. And that meant that all it took was one mistake, one time getting Master Itachi mad at him, and he could be in a worse position that he was before Itachi rescued him.

Itachi felt Sasuke tense and froze, wondering what he'd done to frighten the boy this time. "Sasuke? What's wrong?"

Sasuke shook his head. "N-nothing, Uchiha-sama."

_Bullshit, _Itachi thought flatly. "Well, something must be wrong. It's okay, Sasuke, you can tell me. What is worrying you?"

Sasuke noted in surprise that his master wasn't _ordering _Sasuke to tell him; he was _asking, _letting Sasuke know that it was alright instead of demanding. For that alone, Sasuke decided to at least try to explain it, even if it might get him in trouble.

"It's nothing important, just…"

Sasuke cast Itachi an anxious glance, and Itachi nodded in encouragement. The older Uchiha moved the younger so that Sasuke was sitting close beside him on the bed, body tucked snugly into Itachi's larger, more muscled form. Itachi wrapped a comforting arm around him and nodded for him to continue, effectively removing all sexual aspects out of the position and atmosphere, for which Sasuke was momentarily thankful.

"Well," Sasuke started again nervously, "I'm just a little worried, I mean…" he trailed off, scared. There was _no way _any Master would take this kind of statement from a slave without some serious repercussions. Hell, Sasuke knew masters who would _kill _their pets for this kind of inquiry.

"Go on," Itachi said, unintentionally making the words sound like an order.

Sasuke glanced at his master carefully. Before Itachi-sama had said Sasuke _could _tell him what was wrong, but those last two syllables sounded much more like an order than a request. And Sasuke was still too perfectly trained in the art of submission to even _think _about disobeying a direct order from his master, even if under normal circumstances it would get him beaten or worse.

"Yes, Master. I was thinking that since legally I am still considered your property, it…" he hesitated for a split second, praying that Itachi wouldn't get angry at him for the words that were about to come out of his mouth. "Technically it doesn't matter if you _say _I am free, because on paper I am still your possession. But it's not like I mind being your slave, I don't!" Sasuke slid away from Itachi slightly and went into a little half-bow on the bed. "You rescued me, you feed me, you don't beat me or hurt me- I am very thankful to be your slave, Master. But…" here he paused again, then forged ahead in a rare display of honesty. "But if you are going to free me, then please make it official. Please, Master, if you want to let me go then do it so that it is final. I don't think I can handle false hope again… and if you do not wish that for me, then I beg you, please stop pretending. I would be content to serve you as your slave for as long as you see fit. I just want to know."

Itachi was surprised, for once – he wasn't even sure what the boy was worried about… "So, let me get this straight. Basically you want me to either free you officially or return you to slave status, because you are afraid that I might change my mind if it's not legally binding. And you want me to do one or the other soon, because you don't want false hope." Itachi summed it up in a few sentences and looked to the boy for confirmation.

Sasuke was huddled in a low cringe on the bed, just waiting for Itachi to _finally _be angry with him. Sasuke had never said so much to anyone in his life – and he'd been beaten to near death for much less. Surely even Itachi-sama would be angered by his outburst; maybe if he apologized Itachi-sama would be merciful… he looked up quickly, and discovered that Itachi seemed to be waiting for a response to something he'd said. Sasuke backtracked quickly – that was a skill he'd perfected early on in his career as a slave.

"Yes, Master," he said once he remembered what had been said. "That's it."

Itachi leaned back slightly, still a bit surprised. He certainly hadn't been expecting Sasuke to say something like _that… _although he supposed it did make sense. Speaking of Sasuke, where was he? He wasn't cuddled against him like he had been a minute ago.

Sasuke remained in his kneeling position beside Itachi on the bed as the older Uchiha thought briefly. The younger male wished he had time to move to the floor – experience had taught him that the ground was a much better place to be when speaking to his Master, especially when his Master might be angry. Still, he didn't want to risk moving and drawing Itachi-sama's attention back to him, so he simply waited, finding and holding the most submissive pose he could think of, which was basically just a very, very low bow.

Itachi came out of his thoughts to see a frightened Sasuke cowering in a bow on the opposite side of the bed from him, which wasn't very far away. He sighed, wishing that his uke had more faith in him.

"Sasuke…" said boy jumped and trembled when his name was spoken. "I'm not angry that you spoke out. In fact, I'm glad that you told me your thoughts."

Sasuke didn't move, except to cringe lower.

Air whispered past Itachi's lips as he sighed again. "Sasuke, I promise I am not mad at you."

"B-but, you must be!" the boy protested. "I – I'm not supposed to say stuff like that, I was way out of line. Even the fair masters would punish a slave for that kind of outburst." His voice began to waver at the end, and suddenly he had thrown himself off the bed and at Itachi's feet, which he had been sitting with slung over the side of the bed resting on the ground. Sasuke knelt submissively below him, oblivious to Itachi's shocked expression. Good grief, he'd told the boy it was okay to speak… so why was he still reacting like a whipped puppy?

Sasuke tensed up further when Itachi was quiet for too long, whimpering in the back of his throat. "I'm sorry Master, I didn't intend to speak out of turn, please have mercy," whispered the frightened teen.

"Sasuke," Itachi said, more firmly, "I meant what I said – I am not angry with you. Please get up."

Sasuke froze mid-cringe, then cast a quick look up at his owner – Itachi-sama didn't _look _angry, and that was always a good sign… Sasuke obeyed the request slowly, still making an attempt to make his posture as subservient as possible. It was second nature for him to be pleading in a heap at his Master's feet by this point, so the absence of both the groveling and the blows that usually followed threw him off a bit.

Itachi surprised him by pulling him into an embrace, not even giving him time to be scared – once Sasuke had realised that Itachi had moved, he was already relaxing into the warm circle. He shuddered and gripped Itachi's arm with one hand, his other hand coming up to rest on Itachi's bare chest.

"You alright?" Itachi inquired quietly.

Sasuke nodded tremulously, tears teetering on the edges of his eyelids and deep shudders taking hold of his small form.

"Hey, it's okay," Itachi whispered soothingly. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"Not – your – fault, Mas- ter," Sasuke replied between hiccups.

"Well, it wasn't yours either," Itachi countered, rubbing a thumb gently over one of Sasuke's pale cheeks. Sasuke looked up at him, thrown off, as if the idea that something wasn't his fault was the last possibility that would have occurred to him. "If the legalities of your slave status bother you so much, then I can change them," Itachi reassured the smaller male. "I go into work on Monday, and it's Friday today, so that's three days. I'll talk to one of the other agents at my office and have them sort things out."

Sasuke's coal-grey eyes widened in innocent, childlike surprise. "Really?"

Itachi smiled. "Yes, really. Three more days, and then you are free officially."

Sasuke's face lit up with joy, but then it faded slightly. "But, Master… if I'm free, then what about you? If I don't belong to you, then what am I to you? If I'm not your slave, do I still get to stay here?" Sasuke's eyes widened again, this time in fear. "I don't want to live on the streets!"

"Relax," Itachi told the boy soothingly, rubbing calming circles into his lower back. "You won't have to live on the streets. Have you completely forgotten what I said to you the day we first made love? "be my boyfriend', I said. So even if you are no longer my possession, I still care for you."

Sasuke relaxed again, slowly melting into Itachi's strong yet feathery-soft embrace. Itachi had never been gentle with someone like this before – Sasuke just seemed so fragile, so breakable, that every move Itachi made around him was careful. Except during sex. And speaking of sex… Sasuke's soft form pressed up against Itachi's, conveniently located between the elder's legs, was bringing up his original problem again. Itachi hissed as Sasuke leaned forward slightly, unintentionally brushing against his hardening dick.

"Master?" Sasuke inquired, hearing the short income of breath but not realising the cause.

"Oi, Sasuke," Itachi said, struggling to sound calm, and composed, and _not _like he was getting urges to fuck the boy into the mattress, "Are you still up to taking care of my… problem?"

Understanding crossed Sasuke's face, immediately followed by a quick nod, as if he hadn't even considered if he wanted to or not, he had just agreed.

"You don't have to. We could go get breakfast instead…"

"I want to if you do, Itachi-sama. I like tasting you."

Itachi smirked, acutely glad that Sasuke had agreed. His member was getting uncomfortably swollen…

Sasuke moved away slightly, and Itachi stood to make it easier for him. The younger then kneeled, and, blushing, nuzzled against Itachi's still-naked body.

"Nng," Itachi muttered when Sasuke's breath brushed against his dick, which was quickly coming to full hardness. Sasuke tentatively touched it with his finger, then closed his hand around it and pumped, causing Itachi to bite back a moan. Then the smaller male leaned forward and kissed the tip of Itachi's throbbing member, and then flicked his tongue out against the slit before drawing back again.

Itachi's eyes slid shut at the contact, and his right hand moved forward to wind into Sasuke's raven hair, tugging slightly. Sasuke moaned at the light pain in his scalp, loving the shiver of fear and anticipation that raced through his body when his master showed his dominance over him.

"Master…" he whispered, taking his owner's dick in one hand again.

"Sasuke," Itachi hissed at the sensation of the boy's fingers grasping his cock. Itachi's hand tightened again in Sasuke's hair, and Sasuke opened his mouth as the grip on his black locks drew him to Itachi's dick.

"Mm," Sasuke moaned as he took Itachi into his mouth, sucking on the head of his dick and rubbing his tongue over the tip, loving the way the thick organ filled his cavern.

Pleasure washed over Itachi in a tidal wave, and he had to resist the urge to grab the boy and just fuck his throat. Accidentally his fingers tightened more on Sasuke's hair, causing a quiet yelp.

_Damn it Itachi, control yourself, _He thought. _I don't want to hurt him. _

Sasuke yelped when his hair was pulled, and his dick twitched and began to stiffen with the pain. Yes, Sasuke was a bit of a masochist – fourteen years of forced pain every day had gotten him to the point where he actually _wanted _to be hurt to a certain degree. He moaned and sucked harder on his master's cock, then slipped the stiff organ further into his mouth, taking Itachi's member in fully.

"Ah, fuck, Sasuke…" Itachi breathed. His hips rocked forward, creating more of that delicious, warm friction that came from Sasuke's lips closed around his cock.

Sasuke moaned around the thick organ in his mouth and focused on hollowing out his cheeks, sucking gently. He ran his tongue around the tip and flicked it along the sides as he bobbed his head. He took Itachi in as far as he could, the tip of his master's dick sliding towards the back of his throat, and then pulled back again and mouthed the end, before repeating the process.

Sasuke hummed low in his throat, causing vibrations that traveled from his hot mouth to Itachi's hard cock, and he looked up at Itachi briefly, trying to gauge what he was feeling.

The sensation of having Sasuke's little pink lips stretched around his cock was driving Itachi insane with pleasure, and having the boy's hot, wet cavern encompassing his length only made it harder for him to stay in control. Sasuke's tongue flicked against the slit at the tip of Itachi's member, and he hissed, his other hand, free up till this point, moving to join the other in Sasuke's hair.

Sasuke groaned in want when both his master's hands threaded into his sensitive raven locks, and he cast a pleading glance at Itachi.

That single gaze alone was almost too much for Itachi – the way Sasuke looked at him, on his knees, lips wrapped around his cock, skin flushed and bare, pleading with his eyes, nearly brought him to release all by itself.

A ragged groan escaped Itachi's lips, and he used the grip on the back of Sasuke's hair to pull the smaller raven back, away from his cock, before he could cum.

From lower down, Sasuke was slightly confused when Itachi pulled him away – was he not doing a good enough job? Itachi-sama had seemed to be enjoying it… "Master?" He questioned cautiously.

"My turn to make you feel good," Itachi explained in a gruff tone, eyes alight with desire. Sasuke's master stared at him predatorily, like a lion sizing up a gazelle, and Sasuke shivered and sank lower on his knees, looking down subserviently. Anticipation raced through his veins, making his cock twitch at the expectation of whatever his master had planned for him, but he stayed still, waiting for Itachi-sama to take things at his own pace.

_Gods, he's hot, _Itachi thought as he perceived Sasuke kneeling before him, head down, his entire body radiating absolute submission.

"What is your command, Master," the younger boy inquired quietly.

A crooked smirk worked its way across Itachi's face as an idea occurred to him. "I have something I need to get. When I get back I want you naked in the most erotic and submissive posture you can think of."

Sasuke bowed from his kneeling position, excitement racing through him. "Yes, Master."

Itachi left the room quickly, intent on locating some of his more erotic toys and putting them to good use.

When the older Uchiha left, Sasuke wasted no time in shedding his clothes and dropping them in a semi-neat pile on the floor beside the dresser. He then darted back to the bed and hesitated, unsure if he should get on the bed or remain on the floor. The bed would probably be easier for both of them, and they wouldn't have to move up from the ground, but then again… Itachi-sama had said _submissive, _and between the floor and the bed, Sasuke knew which one fit that description better.

The decision was taken out of his hands when footsteps sounded from outside in the hallway – Itachi was coming back.

Sasuke gulped and chose the floor, his years of not being allowed on beds coming back to haunt him. He fell to his hands and knees, then lowered himself till his forehead was pressed up against the carpet and his ass was in the air, head facing the doorway. As an afterthought he turned around quickly, keeping his body in the lowest, most groveling position it was capable of.

Itachi walked in with a small box in his hands and saw Sasuke on his knees with his ass in the air and his face lowered, offering a very nice view of, well, everything. Itachi smirked in a perverted way when Sasuke shifted slightly, uncomfortable under Itachi's stare.

_I hope Master is happy with this, _Sasuke thought nervously as he heard rather than saw Itachi-sama enter and approach, making the male on the ground cringe a bit, half expecting a kick to the ribs. Sasuke knew his fear was unreasonable, but the same thing had happened too many times before for him to be at ease resting at someone's feet.

"Up," Itachi commanded gently but firmly.

Gratefully Sasuke stood, head still lowered.

"All the way," Itachi said, softly lifting his chin with a single finger. Sasuke sniffed slightly and offered a nervous, apologetic smile, which Itachi responded to with a light caress to his face. "On the bed on your stomach," the seme ordered, ending the quick moment.

Sasuke obeyed immediately, immensely happy to be off the floor. He lay flat on the bed with Itachi standing behind him by the dresser, and briefly Sasuke wondered what was in the box. He wondered if perhaps it was more toys, like the ones Master had used the first time they'd had sex… Sasuke shuddered and felt the blood rush to his cock at the mere thought. Although the times after had all been great, Sasuke had to admit that the first time had been the most amazing.

"Sasuke," Itachi said, "I'm going to use a few tools this time around, okay?"

"O-okay," Sasuke replied one he realised that Itachi-sama was actually waiting for him to agree before he went ahead.

"If at any point you don't like what I'm doing, you may ask me to stop and I will."

Sasuke nodded to show that he got it. "I understand, Master. Ah…" he trailed off.

"Yes?" Itachi inquired, opening the box and withdrawing items. Sasuke hesitated before going on.

"Could we maybe… not do the blindfold this time?" Sasuke asked meekly.

Itachi paused, remembering the boy's reaction to a blindfold during their first love-making session. It had been the first time Sasuke had defied an order from him over anything, and it was obvious that not being able to see anything, especially during sex, terrified the boy to no end. Even now as Itachi thought about it Sasuke was cringing and sending him fearful glances, probably at the prospect of being forced into blindness again.

"Of course we don't have to," Itachi responded. "I won't do anything you won't like, I promise."

The breath whooshed out of Sasuke's lungs, and he felt very grateful. If there was one thing that he really hated, it was not being able to see anything.

"Thank you, Master." Just for this, Sasuke was going to try especially hard this time. No one had ever considered him before in his life, often going out of their way to make him miserable. So he was going to do his best for Itachi-sama.

The boy was drawn out of his thoughts when Itachi left the dresser and slid onto the bed beside Sasuke. The younger cast him a nervous glance, still a little uncomfortable with such close quarters, and Itachi tousled his hair, effectively putting him at ease.

Itachi-sama probably wouldn't hurt him. Sasuke wanted to be positive about it and think that Itachi-sama _definitely_ wouldn't hurt him, but there was still that shadow of doubt, that little niggling fear that said that every kind word from his new master's mouth was a lie, that this whole thing was much too good to be true, and that soon Itachi-sama would grow tired of him and his body and throw him away in favour of a new pleasure slave, perhaps one better trained in the erotic arts.

Itachi paused when Sasuke shivered on the bed, not in anticipation this time, but seemingly in fear. _I don't think I did anything… _Itachi thought, confused. "Ne, Sasuke?" he said carefully, reaching over to pet the boy's head.

Sasuke's body jerked in fright, but then he controlled it and looked over. "Sorry, Master. It's nothing."

The elder knew that that was probably not true, but he didn't want to push the boy further than he wanted to go, so he let it slide.

Itachi shifted slightly and laid three objects he'd brought from the boy on the bed-side table, enjoying the way Sasuke's eyes widened and his cock twitched when he saw what they were.

A cock ring, a pair of handcuffs, and a cylinder-shaped object that could only be a vibrator.

Sasuke shuddered again, this time in want and a little fear. But for once, the fear only contributed to the mood, rather than made him feel a desire to escape the situation.

Itachi moved closer and ran a finger down Sasuke's lithe form, starting at his back and trailing down to his side, then lower across his pale, bony hip. Little bumps appeared on Sasuke's body at the contact, and suddenly he had the desire to lean into the contact. Itachi then stroked Sasuke's nude back, traveling from his skinny shoulders down the flat plain of his back and then along the curve of his ass.

Sasuke whined quietly as Itachi's hands roamed his body, sending jolts of electricity-like desire through him.

The elder rubbed Sasuke's ass cheeks with a single hand, and then grasped the flesh and squeezed slightly. He then pulled gently, revealing Sasuke's little hole, just waiting for a dick or a vibrator inside it. "Damn, you look so tight," he muttered, flicking the hole with a dark fingernail.

"Ah – Master, please hurry," Sasuke gasped. Itachi poked at his entrance but didn't push in, and Sasuke moaned and spread his legs, giving his master better access. Itachi-sama didn't have any lube on his fingers, so Sasuke knew that it would probably hurt, but the heat pooling in his lower region kept him impatient enough to not complain – not that he would have anyway. "M-Master…" he whimpered. "Please…"

Itachi smirked and obliged; he pushed forward with the finger pressed against Sasuke's entrance, and his cock hardened further as he watched Sasuke's hole swallow the appendage.

"Ga – Aah!" Sasuke yelped as he was stretched. Itachi pulled his finger out before thrusting back in to the hilt, _hard_. Sasuke's entire body rocked with the force, and the former slave gasped and moaned as Itachi began pummelling his fingers into the tight heat, sliding in and out of Sasuke's entrance. Itachi added a second finger after a minute of this, and Sasuke gasped and arched his spine, unconsciously trying to wriggle away from the foreign object in his ass. Itachi didn't like that much and took both fingers out.

"Time to introduce the toys, I think," he said with a small grin. Sasuke's eyes widened, but he wasn't _really _scared. Yet.

_I'll have to change that, _Itachi thought. He reached over to the table and first grabbed the metal handcuffs, enjoying the nervousness that grew more pronounced in Sasuke's charcoal eyes.

Below his seme, Sasuke waited breathlessly for whatever Itachi-sama saw fit to do with him. Maybe his master would cuff him to the headboard again – that was okay. Or maybe he'd try something different. Sasuke just hoped that it wasn't anything too extreme or painful… but even if it was, there was no way in hell he'd complain.

Itachi stared down at his 'slave' as he considered. _So many possibilities… _he smirked and, instead of touching the boy, reached back over to the table of toys and pulled open a drawer. He then took out two more pairs of handcuffs, both with short, black chains connecting the thick metal circles. The elder Uchiha knew what he wanted now, but he'd need more than the one pair to do it.

Sasuke gasped when Itachi's hands were suddenly on him again, encircling his upper arms and sliding down till they reached his wrists. Sasuke stayed completely limp as Itachi pulled his small form higher up on the bed, before snapping one of the cuffs on his right wrist and winding the other through one of the rails in the headboard, the same high, old-fashioned headboard that had featured so importantly in their first encounter. However, this time the place where Itachi-sama was cuffing him to was on level with the rest of the bed, forcing Sasuke to lie somewhat flat.

The air whooshed out of Sasuke's lungs in surprise when Itachi flipped him over, sliding a hand under his chest, brushing a nipple, and spinning him gently around so that he lay facing up. "Master?"

"I want to see your face this time," Itachi said lowly, leaning forward and closing the other cuff around Sasuke's left wrist, effectively pinning the younger boy under the older. Sasuke shivered at his own helplessness and stared up at Itachi submissively.

"Mm, you're so beautiful," Itachi muttered. He grabbed a pillow from the head of the bed and tucked it underneath Sasuke, raising his hips a little so that his entrance was fully exposed and easy to get to. He then drew back from Sasuke briefly and picked up the other two pairs of handcuffs lying on the bed. Sasuke's brow creased in confusion; Itachi-sama had already bound his hands, so what else was there to do? His question was answered when Itachi took his leg and cuffed it to the far bedpost, repeating the process with the other.

_Oh, _He thought. _Yes, I suppose there's always that…._

Now Sasuke could hardly move at all – his hands were suspended above his head, and his legs were spread almost too wide to be comfortable. Itachi smirked at the picture.

"Just one more thing and then we can start," he said, running a single finger down Sasuke's stomach. Sasuke shivered and was disappointed when his master took his hand away and returned a moment later holding the cock ring.

Sasuke whimpered slightly. He didn't mind the bondage, in fact he kinda liked it, but the cock ring was very unpleasant.

"'s okay," Itachi soothed. "It won't be long, and you'll enjoy it more this way, I promise. We'll cum together."

Sasuke nodded and didn't flinch or struggle when Itachi slipped the ring on, moaning as his owner's fingers brushed against his neglected erection. Itachi smirked and gave him a playful tug, causing a wanton sound on Sasuke's part.

"Now for the fun," Itachi said, or more like growled. A tremor raced down Sasuke's back. Itachi-sama reached for the vibrator and a tube of lube Sasuke hadn't noticed earlier, sitting on the dresser. Fear flickered to life in Sasuke as he appraised the size of the toy – was Master actually going to fuck him with that? It was huge! The older male spread some lube on the nine-inch-long dildo, paying special attention to the bulbed head and extra-thick length. Then he turned back to Sasuke and ran his free hand down the smaller male's chest, stopping at a nipple.

"Oh, _god!" _Sasuke gasped when Itachi's fingers pinched his nub harshly, forcing his head back in a silent scream. He tried to twist away from the fingers on his nub, but the restraints held him down and forced him to endure his master' ministrations. "Uuhn, Master! Aah!" Itachi switched nipples and gave the other the same treatment, pinching, fondling and flicking the nub, alternatingly rough and soft. He leaned forward and took one in his mouth, before nipping it roughly, taking the nub between his teeth and biting down. Sasuke screamed and arched up into his mouth, moaning.

While Sasuke was preoccupied, Itachi moved the dildo so that the tip was pressed up against his entrance. Sasue tensed and whimpered, forgetting about Itachi's mouth around his nub. "Master… it's big…"

"You'll be okay," Itachi whispered, pushing forward slightly with the toy. "You'll enjoy it soon, I promise."

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut but nodded for Itachi to continue.

The toy's head pushed inside him slowly, causing a sound of discomfort from Sasuke. The younger raven shifted as best he could to allow better access, and sent his master a stare that clearly asked him to hurry up.

"Don't worry about – ah! – hurting me, Master," Sasuke whispered. His eyes were glazed over with lust and desire, and a light blush dusted his pale cheeks.

Itachi hummed and thrust forward quickly, shoving the entire toy into Sasuke's small ass. A screech ripped from Sasuke's lips, followed immediately by a moan of pleasure as the toy struck his prostate. "Gah! Aaah, Master! Nnn…"

Itachi smirked and shifted the toy, making sure it was pressed up directly against Sasuke's sweet spot, before flicking the dial on the base of the dildo onto the lowest setting.

Sasuke's vision flashed white when the dildo began vibrating – he screamed out in pleasure, his back arching away from the bed, and his entire body convulsed. "Aah – AAH! Master! AAAHHNN!"

"That's right, scream for me," Itachi snarled, slamming the vibrator further into Sasuke's entrance.

"Ita– Itachi-sama!" Sasuke gasped. "Aah – AAH!"

"What did you just call me?" Itachi growled, turning the vibrator up another setting. "Didn't I say it's Master in the bedroom?"

"Aah – Yes – Gomenasai, Master," Sasuke apologized habitually as the harder vibrations sent waves of pleasure through his system. Then his mind actually computed what his master was saying, and fear joined the ecstasy. "Aah! Sorry, Master-sama – nng – I didn't mean to – aahh! – improperly address you – uuunn…" Sasuke lost his train of thought with the vibrating dildo pressed up against his prostate. "S-sorry… ohh…Master, unn…" he forgot what he was apologizing for as the waves if pleasure washed through him. Itachi smirked but let it go.

The older Uchiha's eyes swept over the younger lustfully, wishing to imprint the image into his memory, and as an afterthought he activated his sharingan which was, conveniently enough, capable of memorizing every single detail. Sasuke's ass was stretched around the dildo, and his arms were pulled above his head, leaving him in a deliciously vulnerable and helpless state. His legs were chained to either side of the bed and a little circle of metal wound around the base of his cock, and his head was thrown back and mouth open in a not-so-silent moan. When he wasn't completely overwhelmed by sensation or thrashing against the chains in pleasure and desire, he was staring up at Itachi with the hottest, most submissive, pleading expression Itachi had ever seen on an uke. His ivory skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and his dick was stiff and hard, just begging to be touched. Itachi smirked and did just that, taking Sasuke's cock and pumping it.

A scream made its way past Sasuke's lips, and his hips bucked wildly. Itachi moved his hand from holding the vibrator to pinning his slave's hips down and continued to stroke his length, ignoring the screams, moans and gasps issuing from Sasuke's throat.

The position left the vibrator unattended, so Itachi moved slightly so he could place his knee gently on Sasuke's abdomen to minimize the erratic thrusting of the younger boy's hips. That left one hand free to return to thrusting the dildo in and out of Sasuke's tight heat, and one hand free to continue pumping his length.

On the bed below his dominant partner, Sasuke shuddered and trembled at the sheer amount of sensation his body was being forced to endure. He could feel his climax coming, but the damn cock ring on his dick forcefully held it back. Itachi-sama thrust particularly hard with the dildo, but instead of pulling it out and thrusting again, his master simply held it in, vibrating hard against his prostate.

"Aah, uuh – AAAHHN! MASTER! Please, I can't – aaahhh, Master!" Sasuke writhed and screamed, his entire body shuddering violently against the bonds and his open legs shaking. Itachi-sama shifted his slave's legs wider and pressed harder, somehow increasing the already unbearable pleasure so that Sasuke thrashed wildly and shrieked, gasping disjointed pleas and moans. "Uuh, Master please! Please I'm begging you, please let me cum, I – AAAAHHH!"

Itachi turned the vibrator up another level, enjoying the way Sasuke screamed even louder and arched his back, trying desperately to escape the vibrations pressed directly against his prostate.

Air whooshed through Itachi's lungs as he watched the scene. Sasuke whimpered and screamed again when the toy and Itachi continued to abuse his sweet spot mercilessly. His entire body was a jello-y, limp mess, only moving to arch away from the bed and the vibrator and to convulse when his body couldn't handle it anymore.

"M-master-sama…" he cried, his eyes scrunched up in pleasure. "Please, please may I cum? Please, Master… uuuhhhhnn…" his member was painfully hard by this point, and without the cock ring he knew he would've cum by that point.

Itachi cocked his head, considering. He'd been planning to keep the ring on for a while longer ans then fuck him, but then again, the boy had only been introduced to sex four days ago, he didn't want to over-do it. He smirked and reached down and brushed his fingers lightly over Sasuke's swollen dick, earning him a howl and a low, pleading whine.

"Master…" Sasuke whimpered, pleading. "Please, Master, please… it hurts…"

With that, Itachi's decision was made. He didn't want to actually hurt the boy, and anyways who can say no to slave Sasuke when he begs…

"Fine," he growled, leaning closer and shoving the dildo even harder into Sasuke's ass. "You want to come, brat?"

"Yes – Yes Master, please let me cum," Sasuke gasped out, staring at his master with pleasure-filled, submissive eyes.

"Will you be a good slave and finish master's blowjob after so I don't have to fuck you?"

"Yes – yes, Master! Anything, I'll do anything, just please…" Sasuke broke off with a noise that would make any prostitute proud and any straight man gay. "Please….Aah!"

Itachi flicked a dark nail against Sasuke's abused member before slipping the cock ring off.

Sasuke's orgasm was immediate and powerful; it hit him like a brick wall, making him see stars. He screamed louder than he'd ever done during sex as he came, entire body quaking with the force of his release and his wrists and ankles straining at the chains as his body curved upward.

"Fuck," Itachi swore as he watched Sasuke cum, his own dick hardening exponentially at the sexy scene. He reached down and thumbed the head of his cock as he watched Sasuke gasping for breath, lying limp on the bed, covered in sweat and his own cum. The elder had been planning on fucking the boy after they had fun with the vibrator, but Sasuke looked like he was done for a few hours. Oh well, a quick suck-off would be enough.

The stars began to fade from his vision as Sasuke came down from his high. That was the most powerful orgasm he had ever experienced, without a doubt. Now he knew for sure, Sasuke reflected as he got his breath back, that he definitely preferred it when he and Itachi-sama used toys. Although good raw fucking was great to. And speaking of the one who would be fucking him… Sasuke's eyes opened and sought out his master, suddenly a little nervous. Master Itachi had said that he wanted them to cum together, and Sasuke had just came by himself… Would Master be angry? He _had _said it was okay, but then again, that had never stopped Sasuke's previous master from being angry with him…

Wide charcoal eyes met sharingan red, and Itachi sighed when he read the apprehension there. Must this happen every time they had sex?

"It's alright, Sasuke," Itachi said before Sasuke could say anything. "I changed my mind halfway through, I'm not angry with you."

Relief washed over the younger Uchiha, and he tried to move to start cleaning up, but was stopped by the handcuffs still shut around his wrists and ankles.

"Oh, I'll get those off," Itachi said, standing and moving to the box which had held the vibrator and cock ring. He pulled out a key and walked back to Sasuke.

Sasuke tensed as Itachi-sama neared him, once again plainly aware of his own defencelessness. His mind knew that Itachi-sama was trustworthy and wouldn't hurt him, but everything else in him hated being chained down unless it was during sex. Itachi noticed this and unlocked the restraints quickly, helping Sasuke sit up.

Sasuke initially flinched away from Itachi's supporting hold, but after his arms gave out while trying to push himself into a sitting position, he didn't fight it when Itachi gently helped him into a sitting position. His entire body felt drained, but he forced himself into a somewhat upright position, wincing at the slight pain in his ass.

"You alright?" Itachi inquired, not missing the small discomfort.

"Ah – Yes, Master," Sasuke said, still unaccustomed to having people ask. "Just a little sore."

Itachi nodded and helped Sasuke wipe some of the sticky cum off his stomach and chest. Sasuke was about to ask permission to go wash up when he noticed a rather important detail – Itachi's still erect cock, looking rock-hard and throbbing.

"Master, you never got to release," Sasuke said. The boy felt guilty – the first rule in the slave world is that your master comes first in everything; comfort, pleasure, everything. So for Sasuke, who still viewed himself as Itachi's slave, to have cum before his owner… he hung his head. "I'm sorry Master."

"Don't be," Itachi replied, for once actually having an idea of what was going on inside Sasuke's head. "I let you cum first, so of course I don't mind. And if you feel that bad, then you could always…"

Before he had even finished his sentence Sasuke had slid to the floor eagerly, obviously willing to right what he saw as an wrong-doing on his part. "Thank you, Master." The smaller raven didn't hesitate; he positioned himself in front of Itachi and immediately took the entire thing in his mouth, impaling his throat on his master's dick.

Sasuke bobbed his head gently and sucked hard before deep-throating Itachi's cock again, forcing himself deeper onto the long member than he'd ever managed before. The mushroom-tip of his owner's dick pushed past the back of his throat, triggering Sasuke's gag reflex and making him swallow around it. He ignored the discomfort and did it again, thrusting himself down onto Itachi's cock. He tried to move his tongue around to slide up and down Itachi's shaft, but the thickness of the arousal filled his mouth completely and made it had to move his tongue at all.

Itachi gasped and moaned when Sasuke deep-throated him, swallowing around his dick. If the smaller male kept this up then Itachi wouldn't last long. "Look at me, Sasuke," he grunted as Sasuke's throat convulsed around his member again.

Charcoal-grey eyes flickered up to his submissively as Sasuke obeyed. Those eyes, they were so beautiful. The boy sucking Itachi's cock was beautiful. "Hhm," Itachi moaned as he took Sasuke's head in his hands and began thrusting roughly.

A low groan escaped Sasuke's lips as his master's hands closed coarsely on his delicate jaw and face, and he went limp and opened his mouth as wide as he could for his master to fuck as hard as he wished. Itachi did exactly that and thrust into the heat of his sub's mouth roughly, pounding his throat ruthlessly. Sasuke moaned and took it, loving the way his owner's cock felt hitting the back of his throat and filling his mouth.

Soon Itachi came with a strangled moan, sending jets of cum into Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke swallowed as much as he could and the excess dripped from his lips and down his chin, sucking on Itachi's member till all of his essence had been drained.

The bed sagged as Itachi leaned back against it, coming down from the high caused by the orgasm.

Sasuke wiped the extra cum from his mouth with an already cum covered sheet and remained where he was, kneeling at Itachi's feet with his head lowered subserviently. He glanced at his master, searching for confirmation that he had done well, and was rewarded with an affectionate pat on the head.

"Good job, Sasuke. That was almost as good as fucking you would have been."

Sasuke practically purred as his master pulled him up and into his arms; once on the bed the smaller raven curled up in Itachi's arms and promptly fell asleep.

Itachi raised a single dark eyebrow at the sleeping boy in his arms and smirked. He must have tired the boy out more than he thought.

Carefully the older Uchiha slid Sasuke under the cleanest section of the blankets and tucked him in. Itachi then lay on top of the covers next to his sleeping uke and brushed a strand of midnight hair away from Sasuke's face. He smiled softly as Sasuke shifted towards the touch in his sleep, murmuring something quietly. Itachi wrapped an arm around the boy and once again whispered three little words.

"I love you, Sasuke."

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter end. This one was a real bitch to write, I hope you guys appreciate it. <strong>

**Reviews make my fingers move! Really they do, whenever I get writer's block reviews keep me typing. It's good motivation. **

**Once again, a real heart-felt thank you to all my readers and reviewers, I love you more than I love my own family sometimes! :)  
><strong>

**／****l****、****  
><strong>**ﾞ（ﾟ､****｡****７****  
><strong>**l****、ﾞ****ヽ****  
><strong>** じし****f_, )****ノ**

**Neko-san wants you to review. OBEY THE HYPNO-KITTY! **

**Thanks a ton for reading, and see you next time!**

**- ****TheCrimsonKiss, proud partitioner of the Yaoi Rebellion**


	4. Memories and Trip Plans

** Hello everyone, I'm back! A big shout-out to: **

**xXMyukiUchihaXx, Kitty-Meow-1995, Alliboba14, theGnRFangirl, Ascendead Master, Cynder81, XxpwnagexX, Rosebunse**

**Aand my single anonymous reviewers, Akuma. **

**You guys are all amazing, thank you very much! On with chapter four!**

* * *

><p>(MemoryDream)

_Pain lanced across Sasuke's back, jolting a ragged scream from parched lips. He whimpered quietly as the fiery-white pain faded to a deep, dull throbbing, before the whip struck the skin of his back again with a sharp crack, forcing yet another shriek of agony. Sasuke sobbed, hanging limply against the chains holding his arms down and looked up to see his Master's cold, dull brown eyes staring down at him cruelly. _

_The whip cracked again, causing Sasuke's entire body to jolt against the pain and his spine to arch away from the leather. The boy's throat was already sore from screaming and pleading, but he tried again anyway. "Master-sama please I'm sorry, please stop –" __**crack **__"__- Aaahh! PLEASE MASTER-SAMA!" __**Crack, crack, crack. **__"__Aahhhn please! Sorry, I'm sorry! I'll be good, I swear! Please don't, PLEASE –" the slave broke off with yet another howl of agony when the whip fell five times in quick succession, leaving long, deep cuts that would nevertheless heal without scarring. The boy cringed against the chains in a futile attempt to escape the blows raining down on him from behind, tugging hard enough to cause the metal circles around his wrists to bite into the flesh. Blood ran down the child's body, pooling in a crimson puddle below his quivering form, unnoticed by both donor and perpetrator. _

_Another lash came down on his already torn back, the hardest one yet, followed by a brutal kick to the same area. Sasuke screamed and yanked against the chains, tears streaming down his cheeks. His master only laughed, his dull red hair falling into his chillingly cold eyes._

_His Master ceased his whipping for a moment and simply stared, envisioning al the torturous things he could do to the little raven. The raven sensed his owner's devious thoughts and cried harder as terror joined the agony coursing through his system, gasping another garbled plea for mercy. "P-please M-Master-sama, please…" he cringed, coal-black eyes squeezed shut and forehead pressed against the blood-covered floor. "Have mercy, please." Sasuke was scared. More than that; he was downright terrified. His master didn't usually whip him unless he'd done something very wrong, and this time, he'd accidentally broken something of his owner's… what had he broken again? A vase? A pitcher? Oh, that's right – the antique bowl with copper edging that was part of a five-piece set. _

_It was honestly an accident – Sasuke sobbed quietly at the burning ache in his back as his Master circled him, eyeing the helpless slave as one might a speck of dirt. _

_Sasuke's master smirked at the picture of the boy's half-nude form cringing away from him on his knees, surrounded by his own blood and arms chained to the floor on either side of him. The older male looked around the room quickly, cataloguing the items he had available. _

_There were a number of chain sets along one wall, as well as manacles hanging from the ceiling and two sets attached to the floor, one of which Sasuke currently occupied. There were also a variety of devices – a cat-o-nine-tails, a long whip with shards of broken glass embedded in the tip, a long metal rod, a thin but painful-looking switch, and a branding iron. The last item had never been used though; after all, banding scarred, and if there was one thing the older male did not want, it was to permanently mark the boy. There was also a table with leather straps where the victim's wrists, ankles, waist and neck would lie, but he only used that device for his more difficult experiments._

_The brown-eyed man went closer to his slave and grabbed his hair, forcing Sasuke's head back and earning him a terrified whimper and a pleading glance from dark, fear-saturated eyes. "Do you know why you are being punished, brat?" It took Sasuke a moment from the pain coursing through his body to realize that his Master was speaking to him. That moment was enough to garner further punishment; the larger man roughly backhanded Sasuke across the face impatiently, snarling, "I asked you a question, scum!" _

_Sasuke fell back to the floor from the force of the blow, head reeling. Through the burning on his back and the dizziness he gasped, "B-because I broke one of you be-belongings, Master-sama." He lay limply on the floor, only moving to tremble fearfully when his Master went down on one knee beside him and lifted his chin with the handle of the whip. _

"_Hhm," the man replied, studying Sasuke's powerless and pain-ridden body with a look of boredom. "Exactly. I liked that set, you know." _

_Sasuke bowed his head, lowering his eyes. "I-I'm sorry, Master-sama…"_

"_I don't want to hear your apologies!" his master bellowed, lashing out with the whip and causing Sasuke to cry out as the leather bit into his left shoulder and arm mercilessly. _

_Fear rocketed through Sasuke as he saw the anger in his owner's light brown eyes, and immediately he resorted to begging again. "Please Master-sama I didn't mean to, please I'm sorry!" __**Crack, crack, crack. **_

_The whip continued to fall long after Sasuke had collapsed from screaming and pain. Tears streamed from unseeing, half-closed eyes and crimson liquid dripped from his wrists and trickled from his back. After a while it stopped hurting with every lash and became one never-ending mass of anguish, marked only by the size of the ruby puddle. And still his owner whipped. _

_Eventually, god knows how long after, the blows on his exposed and abused form ceased. Sasuke wouldn't have noticed save for the sudden absence of the cracking sound. Dazedly, Sasuke realized that this meant that either his punishment was over, or his Master had found something more painful to do to him. _Oh Kami-sama please, I can't take more…

_A soft, barely audible whimper passed his sore throat. _

"_Hn," his Master muttered, nudging Sasuke's limp and small form with the whip's handle. Sasuke was in too much pain to even flinch. "Pathetic." _

_The young Uchiha was almost unconscious. He could feel it very close by, like a dark, comforting blanket, but before he could reach out and allow the sweet blackness to take him he was brought back by a sharp kick to the ribs. Somehow his vocal cords managed a yelp, and he forced his coal-grey eyes open to see his Master standing over him, looking faintly amused. _

_One glance at those cold brown eyes was enough to tell Sasuke that his Master was far from done. Another kick struck him in the ribs, possibly fracturing them, and before Sasuke had recovered from that a forceful slap caught him on the cheek, before a punch came from the other side and struck his jaw. New pain bloomed all over his body as the other man, his Master, sent blow after blow down on him. _

"_M-Master-sama P-p-please s-stop," Sasuke whimpered. He knew he would probably get in trouble for speaking, but he didn't think he could handle much more… _

"_You want me to stop, eh?" the icy voice said sarcastically. "Well __**I **__don't want to stop!" _

_Sasuke curled up into a ball as best he could with the restraints and simply waited it out, hoping for unconsciousness to come and claim him. _

* * *

><p>Back in the present, Sasuke whimpered and cringed as the memory ran through his sleeping mind in the form of a nightmare. "No…. no, please…" he sobbed, arms coming up to shield his face from invisible strikes.<p>

Downstairs, Itachi turned the frying pan off and carried it and its burden of scrambled eggs to the table, before setting it down and going back for the salt and pepper. He was just about to put bread in the toaster when he heard a scream from upstairs.

"Sasuke!" he called, dropping the bread back onto the counter and racing out of the kitchen. The older Uchiha took the steps in record time and barreled down the hallway to his room, ready for anything. It was times like these, Itachi reflected, that he was very glad he was an ANBU member. However when he got to the bedroom and shoved the door open, nearly taking the poor piece of wood off its hinges in the process, there was no enemy or assailant to fight. Instead Sasuke was thrashing around on the bed, terrified cries escaping his lips and his hands curled into fists.

With two wide steps Itachi crossed the room and took Sasuke in his arms. Quickly he debated his options; if he woke Sasuke at that moment the boy would likely be more frightened than he already was. However, the pained and terrified expression on his face was too much for Itachi to ignore.

"Sasuke," Itachi said gently but firmly, "Wake up." Instead of waking, Sasuke thrashed harder at the sound, body arching against invisible restraints and another pained shriek leaving his throat. Itachi was _almost _scared at this point; he'd never seen someone had that vivid of a dream before. "Sasuke!" he said louder, cradling the boy carefully in his arms and giving him a firm shake.

"No, no, Please!" the boy sobbed, clawing at the sheets. "Stop it! Please I'm sorry, PLEASE!"

_This is bad, _Itachi thought, a pang going through his heart. _I can't wake him up. _As a last resort, Itachi took both the boy's shoulders and shook again, harder. "Wake up!" he called, as loudly as he dared. He wanted to wake Sasuke, not frighten him further, although that was likely to happen anyway.

The boy kept writhing and crying, obviously still in the grip of whatever nightmare he was having. The picture was painful for Itachi – he hated seeing Sasuke this frightened. Deciding that waking him now and having him scared was better than letting him keep sleeping, Itachi took a deep breath and then yelled, "SASUKE!"

That did it; Sasuke's coal eyes snapped open, and before he had the chance to say anything Itachi was already comforting him. "I'm sorry Sasuke, I had to wake you up. It's okay, it was just a dream, you're okay. It's alright, don't be scared."

Sasuke stared up at him fearfully for a long moment. His eyes then flickered to Itachi's arms, wound firmly around his smaller frame, and then back to Itachi's eyes, which he realised too late had bled into the sharingan red during his rush to the bedroom. It was too much; the constricted position, as well as coming face-to-face with the most feared ocular jutsu in the world, made Sasuke gasp and cringe. A low whine of fear was heard, and for a moment Itachi was at loss. Then he deactivated his sharingan and loosened his hold without letting go, to let Sasuke know that he was there if comfort was desired but that he wasn't trapped.

Sasuke lowered his wide eyes submissively, fear and confusion still prominent. He shuddered and whimpered slightly, still not completely free of the dream. He was laying half on the bed and half on Itachi-sama's lap, with said master's arms enclosing his upper half. The terror started to slowly drip out of his system as the memory faded and reality sank back in, but he still trembled slightly.

"Ne," Itachi said in a tone so gentle Sasuke was surprised it came from the stoic Uchiha. "You alright?" Sasuke shook harder, which effectively answered Itachi's question. No, Sasuke was _not _alright. "Hey, it's okay," Itachi whispered, shifting the two of them so they were both lying on the bed, Sasuke's slight form tucked into Itachi's chest. The older Uchiha put his arms slowly around the younger, softly rubbing his back. Somewhere along the lines Sasuke simply broke down in tears, burying his face in Itachi's shoulder. "Ssh," Itachi whispered softly, smoothing Sasuke's bangs away from his face lightly. "Whatever it was, it's not real. It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you, _no one _is ever going to hurt you again, I promise." Itachi was slightly encouraged that the boy didn't seem to be scared of him, just whatever memory he had been reliving.

Sasuke looked up at him carefully, his beautiful black eyes wet and wide with fright. Itachi gave a gentle, reassuring smile and stroked his cheek, and Sasuke sniffed and lowered his head again but did not flinch away. Itachi, realising that it would be a while before Sasuke was ready to talk, simply shifted the boy closer and stilled, waiting.

The sobs quieted somewhat as Itachi-sama's arms squeezed soothingly, making Sasuke feel a little bit – just a little bit – more secure. The shivers of fear running through his skinny form stilled eventually, also due to the warm embrace around him, and he found himself melting into the hug. Hesitantly his right arm came up and wound around Itachi's ribs, joining the elder's arms in holding him close. Itachi was a little surprised but said nothing of it.

"M-master…?" Sasuke whispered about five minutes later. Itachi thought about correcting the title yet again but figured that it probably wasn't the best time.

"Yes?"

"May I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"W-would you…" Sasuke stopped and cringed, a vivid flashback of what his last owner would've done at this question going through his mind. Itachi-sama looked worried and nuzzled his hair softly, relaxing him a little.

"Would I…?"

"Ever whip me." Sasuke blurted the words out in a rush. He was fairly sure he knew the answer already, but he also knew that he'd be nervous around Itachi-sama until he got an answer.

"Whip… No Sasuke, never." Itachi was appalled, at both the fact that Sasuke thought he might do that to him and that someone had obviously done it to him before. "I said I would never harm you. Even if by some off chance I do get irritated with you, I swear to Kami I will never hurt you. That included whippings, beatings, and any other kind of punishment you can think of, I won't do it. Ever."

Sasuke nodded against Itachi's chest, and absurdly he felt tears prickling at his vision again. "Th-thank you." The words were quiet, but they warmed Itachi's heart. Sasuke went on, "I – no one's ever been kind to me before… I don't deserve it. There's no reason for you to be good to me, so – just – thank you. I…" he trailed off, unsure of how to put the titanic amount of gratitude in his chest into words. Finding himself unable to do so, he leaned upwards and placed a gentle, submissive, heart-felt, _warm _kiss on Itachi's lips. Their eyes met for a second, and Itachi was surprised by the depth of fervor and submissive fire in Sasuke's. "I will do anything you ask of me. If there is anything at all I can do to thank you then please, tell me so I can do it. I -" Itachi cut the boy off by returning the kiss with one of his own; he pressed his lips against Sasuke's and stroked the boy's face with a single finger. He pulled back after a moment and regarded the small raven with affection.

"Sasuke," he said in a low, husky voice. Sasuke shivered at the sound of his name being said in that tone. "The only thing I want from you is your love – and I won't demand it." The smaller male nodded slightly, but he still resolved to try and thank Itachi-sama somehow.

Itachi smiled and hugged the boy closer, relishing in the closeness.

From within the embrace, Sasuke was sorting through his feelings. He wasn't sure if he loved Itachi-sama back, but sine that was what Itachi-sama wanted, he would try. He already felt a deep-seated affection for the older Uchiha – after all, how could he not? Itachi-sama was the first person in fourteen years that had seen him as a person instead of an object, as a being instead of a possession. He was the only person Sasuke could remember who hadn't hit him or struck him when he made a mistake, and on top of that, Itachi-sama claimed to _love _him. Sasuke wasn't positive, but if love was the warm, fluttery feeling he got in his chest when he thought about Itachi-sama, then yes, he did love him back.

"I think-" Sasuke paused and raised his head, two sets of deep black eyes meeting. "I love you to, Itachi-sama."

A smile flitted across Itachi's lips, before becoming a full-blown grin. He leaned down and kissed Sasuke again, who moaned a little when Itachi's tongue brushed over his lips. Itachi pulled back long enough to say, "I'm glad, Sasuke." Then of one accord the two Uchiha both leaned forward and kissed again, conveying every emotion, every feeling, into the action.

A quiet moan passed Sasuke's lips when Itachi slipped his tongue into his mouth, and uncertainly his hands came up to rest in Itachi's hair. Sasuke had wanted to feel Itachi's raven locks for a while, but had never dared till now. His hair was unbelievably silky, even softer than Sasuke's, and it had a few natural tangles in it. Sasuke ran his fingers through the black length gently as they kissed, until Itachi softly bit his lip, sending desire rippling through Sasuke's body. "Mmm," he grunted. Then Itachi-sama stopped kissing him and sat up, causing the younger to whine in protest.

Itachi smirked. "I made breakfast; we should go eat." Sasuke pouted but nodded, and Itachi leaned in and kissed the side of his neck, flicking his tongue against Sasuke's throat. "There'll be plenty of time for fun and games tonight," he whispered, sending a shudder down Sasuke's back. "I've got plans for you."

"Y-yes Itachi-sama," Sasuke replied shakily, wishing forlornly that it was nighttime already. He wanted Itachi-sama to take him _now, _damnit.

"Are you hungry?" Itachi inquired, helping Sasuke into a sitting position.

Sasuke's old training came back for a split second and made him hesitate, but he answered, "Ah… Yes?" he said it like a question, but Itachi-sama smiled, putting him at ease.

"Good, because I don't think I can eat it all by myself. C'mon, it's getting cold."

Sasuke followed Itachi-sama downstairs, keeping his head down and making sure to stay a step behind Itachi and a bit to the left, per habit.

The two of them made their way downstairs and into the kitchen, where Sasuke immediately folded down to his knees on the floor close by Itachi's feet. Itachi took a seat and then raised an eyebrow at Sasuke, who peered up at him questioningly.

"Sasuke, would you do something for me?" he inquired. Letting the kid know he could sit at the table hadn't worked so far, so perhaps if Itachi phrased it as a request…

"Of course, Itachi-sama," Sasuke replied quickly, glad for the chance to do something for Itachi. This man had saved him and was kind to him – Sasuke would do anything Itachi-sama asked of him. "What is it?"

"Sit at the table with me?" Itachi asked, gesturing to the other chair. Sasuke hesitated, his habitual nervousness coming back.

"B-but, Itachi-sama …"

"… … …"

"Yes, Master."

Itachi smirked and lent Sasuke a hand in getting to his feet. He then pulled the chair out for the smaller male. "If you are going to be free, then you will have to unlearn many of the habits you picked up as a slave." Sasuke nodded, looking extremely uncomfortable as he slid into the high-backed wooden chair. "There, that's not so hard, is it?"

"No, Itachi-sama."

"Eggs?"

"Um… y-yes please, Itachi-sama." Once again Sasuke was scared to accept the food, and once again Itachi reassured him with a smile and a heap of scrambled eggs on his plate. Sasuke's eyes widened a little at the amount of food – really, was all that for him? "Th-thank you very much, Master."

Itachi smiled a little and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately, before getting some food for himself.

The first bite Sasuke took was hesitant; he waited for Itachi to start eating before picking up his chopsticks timidly, and then scooped up a piece of his breakfast. The younger raven then popped the food in his mouth, and chewed and swallowed in the course of less than a second. After peeking at Itachi through dark eyelashes and not getting a negative reaction, Sasuke proceeded to quickly empty the entire plate.

The two Uchiha ate in silence, both busy chewing. Sasuke was obviously uncomfortable sitting at the table with Itachi – he was a slave, he was _positive _that he should be sitting on the floor like a good pet – and every move he made was subdued and carefully submissive, as if afraid he would break something and was apologizing in advance. His eyes stayed fixed firmly on the white tablecloth by his plate, never wandering up to Itachi, and despite the speed with which he was putting food in his mouth, his hands were quivering slightly.

"Is this the first time you've ever sat at a table?" Itachi asked him between bites. At the first sound from his former owner Sasuke jumped slightly.

"Ah, yes Master."

"And what about a bed, did you have one before you came here?"

"No, Master. At my previous home I slept in the basement on the floor."

Itachi nodded slightly, and a sliver of cold, hard anger appeared in his eyes. Sasuke shivered a bit at the expression, fear trickling into him even though he knew that the anger was most likely not directed at him. Itachi noticed this and immediately got rid of the peeved look marring his features.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." A comfortable silence reigned for a few moments, till Itachi spoke again. "Listen, Sasuke… we don't have to if you don't want, but I was thinking, would you like to try going outside today?"

"If that is what you wish, Master." Although Sasuke's face and tone did not betray any change, inside he was scared again. Outside? In public? With other, perhaps more violent, people? No, he didn't much like that idea. The last time he'd been out on a public outing it had been with his old owner, and it had not ended well.

"We don't have to," Itachi-sama repeated, watching him carefully. "I just thought, you've been inside ever since you came here so you might enjoy it… We could go to the aquarium or the zoo, or maybe the amusement park.

Sasuke was quiet for a minute. It _would _be nice to see the sun, he supposed, but other masters made him nervous…

"There are some friends of mine I think you would like - if you do decide to go out with me maybe you could meet them," Itachi said. _Not Naruto though, _he thought to himself. _Not yet, he's too loud._ Hinata perhaps, and maybe Shusui and Kakashi, they were the most understanding of his circle of acquaintances. "Maybe eventually I can take you to work with me, too." But of course that would have to wait till Sasuke felt comfortable with it, and right at that moment, Sasuke was…. Where was Sasuke?

Itachi noticed that Sasuke had shrunk down in his chair, the all-too familiar look of fear plastered on his face again.

The younger raven shivered as he ducked his head, unconsciously attempting to make himself as small as possible. His heart had jumped into his mouth when Itachi-sama had mentioned meeting his friends, and his body had started trembling at the idea of actually going to his master's workplace with him.

Sasuke shut his eyes and concentrated on controlling his shivering. Outside was scary, that much was true. But even if master did force him out, Itachi-sama wouldn't let him get hurt, right? He promised to protect Sasuke.

"Ne," Itachi said quietly, bringing Sasuke's attention back to him. "We don't have to. Obviously the idea scares you, so we won't do it."

Sasuke blanched, still completely taken aback by the idea of someone changing their plans because of him. "Th-thank you Master," the boy said meekly, looking down.

"What'd I say about calling me that?" Itachi prompted gently. He'd been letting the boy call him master in hopes that he'd eventually remember and stop, but so far he hadn't.

"Ah – I'm sorry Itachi-sama," Sasuke apologized, eyes widening a bit. He hadn't even noticed when he'd started calling Itachi-sama master again, it was just so integrated into his training; according to what he'd learned his entire life, other people were _always _either 'master,' 'master-sama,' 'mistress' or 'sir'. In accordance with that, no one had ever called him 'Sasuke' – it was always 'pet', 'brat', 'boy', or 'slave'. In fact, Itachi was the first person in Sasuke's life who had either asked for his name or allowed Sasuke to address him by his own. He had graciously given Sasuke that privilege, and then Sasuke had forgotten and disobeyed… would Itachi-sama be angry? His old master definitely would be… Sasuke shivered harder.

The younger Uchiha jumped when a pair of arms suddenly slid around him.

"Easy," Itachi-sama's voice soothed from beside his ear. Sasuke tensed at the closeness, and he squeaked in surprise when Itachi-sama picked him up easily and sat again, cradling Sasuke in his arms. "Have I ever hurt you, Sasuke?" Sasuke shook his head truthfully; no, Itachi-sama had never actually harmed him or done anything he hadn't ended up liking. "And didn't I promise to never do so?" Sasuke nodded and relaxed a bit as their earlier conversation came back to mind. "Well then, there's no need to be frightened, is there?" Sasuke shook his head again, relaxing fully against Itachi's chest.

"No, Itachi-sama."

"Hhm."

The two Uchiha's sat there for a little as Itachi finished off his toast and eggs, feeding Sasuke bits from his chopsticks.

Sasuke sighed in content and laid his head against Itachi's shoulder. He liked it when the older male held him like that – it made him feel warn, secure. The sensation was not one he was accustomed to, but he certainly liked it.

"Um… Mas – Itachi-sama?"

"Yes?" Itachi looked down to Sasuke with a gentle, comforting squeeze.

"Those places you mentioned, the zoo and the… the other one, aqua-something. What…" Sasuke paused.

"Hm-hmm?" Itachi hummed.

Sasuke gathered his courage and blurted out, "What are they?"

Itachi was surprised. Then the familiar anger at Sasuke's old owner made a comeback. Here he was, a fourteen-year-old boy, and he didn't know what a zoo or aquarium was. "A zoo is where a bunch of animals are kept for people to come see them," he explained. "They have many exotic types, like lions and monkeys, as well as a large variety of others. An aquarium is basically the same thing, but for water animals – they keep things like whales and dolphins. People pay money to go and look at them."

Sasuke cocked his head, "So, sort of like a slave viewing, but with animals?"

Itachi deadpanned. _Slave viewing? Damnit, what kind of shit was this kid's owner into? _"Well, I've never been to a slave viewing so I'm not sure, but it's probably similar." Sasuke nodded, looking a tiny bit interested.

"Would you like to go?"

Sasuke blanched and sent Itachi a calculating look, as if trying to discern the correct response from the expression he found there. "Is that what you want to do?"

Itachi sighed internally. "I want to do what you want to do. I'm asking for your honest preference; I won't be angry either way you answer."

Spikey hair bobbed as Sasuke nodded. "Okay then, could we… go to the aquarium?"

A smile worked its way across Itachi's face. "Sure. Why don't you get dressed and wash up, and then we'll leave? The aquarium's only a fifteen minute drive from here."

"Okay," Sasuke nodded again, an excited gleam appearing in his eyes. "But – one thing." He paused, and only continued when Itachi gestured for him to. "Will there be a lot of other people there? What about other slaves and their masters?"

"There will be a few," Itachi responded honestly. "It's quite early though, so it shouldn't be too busy."

"Hm-mm." Sasuke seemed content with that answer, so he helped Itachi clear the table and then scurried upstairs to change out of his pajamas. All the while anticipation raced through his body – he was actually going to see an aquarium! And then later that night, there were the plans Itachi-sama had… a shiver ran up his spine. Today looked like it was going to be a very good day.

Oh how wrong he was.

* * *

><p><strong>And there you have it. Next time: a trip to the aquarium, a chance meeting, and… I'm not sure what else. I'm running kind of low on ideas, so what happens is up to you. What happens, guys? Intense shit, some fluff, intense fluff, or nothing, your choice. <strong>

**Okay, I want to talk about reviews for a minute. Now, I do appreciate you favouriting and adding this story to your alert list, I really do, but if you do that without reviewing, it doesn't really help me or the story. No, it just frustrates me. I want REVIEWS people, not more favourites. **

**And as always, a thank-you from the bottom of my heart to the people who have already reviewed. You are the only reason I continue, and your reviews from last chapter effectively shattered the writer's block I was having. You're awesome! Hontoni arigato gosaimasu! **

**Once again, here is hypno-kitty, who wants you to review. So you should prob – ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOKITTY. **

／l、  
>ﾞ（ﾟ､｡７<br>l、ﾞ~ヽ  
>じしf_, )ノ<p>

**Ahem, anyways. Thanks a ton and see you next time! That is, if all you freeloaders review. Toodles!**

**- Crimson**


	5. Troubled Past and Chance Meetings

**Hi everyone! I come with gifts of a new chapter! Well, **_**a **_**gift, in the singular, but still… **

**Thank you very much to all last chapters reviewers! I wanted to thank you all individually by PM for a while there, but it got too time-consuming and complicated, so I decided I'll try putting individual responses here. **

**LessThanThree: Thank you! I appreciate it, especially because you gave me a specific line that you liked; it helps me to know exactly what my readers enjoy. Thank you!**

**xXMyukiUchihaXx: Aw, one of the best, really? I hope you know how good that makes me feel… :) thank you so much! I will do my best not to disappoint!**

**Ascendead Master: … … … you, my dear friend and consort, have just given me an evil and devious idea. It will most definitely be put to good use. Thank you! That was just the sort of fresh idea that I was looking for to make things more interesting. You're awesome :)**

**TheGnRFangirl: Thank you for the review! I will do my best!**

**zuruichi123: Thank you! I hope I'll see you reading further :)**

**Ioio-Chan: Thank you for the review! I'll make sure to supply you with more as soon as I can :)**

**Always-Unpredictable: Well thanks :) I hope that means you'll be sticking around. Thanks for the feedback!**

**Cyndar81: Mm-hmm, ah the plans I have for dear little Sasu-chan… :P Thank you very much for the review and ideas! **

**Akuma: Yes it was, and thank you for the review!**

**Bladibla: Thanks for pointing that out; I know, I should probably get a beta. I appreciate the feedback :)**

**Shadowtwins: Thank you for the review!**

**LoveEverlasting: Thank you very much, I'm glad you're still interested. As always your feedback is greatly appreciated :) if the long chapters are difficult, though, would you prefer shorter ones?**

**ImSexy'NdIKnowIt: Aw, heaven in word form, really? Thank you so much! That makes me feel warm fuzzy… :p Oh, something similar to that will happen eventually, don't you worry. *evil cackle* I'm so mean so Sasuke… :) thank you very much!**

**XxpwnagexX: no worries! You reviewed, and for that I am grateful :) Yes, I actually incorporated a few of your ideas into this, and I plan on having more flashbacks. None this chappy, but probably next. Thank you very much!**

**Mecheela: Yup it is :) thank you very much for the review! **

**Songo12: Thank you very much! I have a similar idea going, I hope you like where it goes. I **_**am **_**going to try and incorporate some of the other characters though, so Hinata and Kiba might get an appearance. Thank you!**

**Casanoda-kun: Well thank you very much :) I hope that means I'll be seeing your reviews again. Oh yes, Itachi is going to be kicking someone's ass soon. Not this chappy, but soon. Thank you!**

**SkylerOC: You know it's funny, I was just debating whether to update today or wait till this Friday, and then I went to my email and you had reviewed, which sealed the decision. Everybody: thank Skyler, because if not for her opportune timing you'd be waiting three more days. So yes, I am adding another chapter soon… :) thank you very much!**

**God, that was a long author's note. I may have to just stick with thanking you all once in general. **

**I decided to split the trip to the aquarium into two chapters, because it was getting insanely long. Sorry everyone but this will be a two-part chapter. Anyways, on with chapter five!**

* * *

><p>It was nine o'clock by the time Itachi and Sasuke were ready to leave. Itachi had to coax Sasuke to leave the house due to his fear of open spaces, but the younger Uchiha quickly got over his initial nervousness and allowed Itachi to lead him to his black Volvo.<p>

"This is your car, Itachi-sama?" he asked, eyeing the sleek vehicle with large black orbs.

"Mm-hm," Itachi hummed in confirmation. "The agency I work for supplies the employees with cars and a hired driver. It's a nice perk."

Sasuke nodded and drew in a short breath to say something, but decided not to. Itachi opened the door and gestured for Sasuke to proceed him inside. The interior of the car looked more like a limo than a Volvo; the seats had been altered to sit facing each other, and a thick pane of solid black glass separated the front driver's seat from the interior. Itachi slipped inside beside Sasuke, giving directions to the driver as he did so. "The aquarium, please."

"Hai, Itachi-sama," the driver, a middle-aged man with thin brown hair replied. The servant cast Sasuke a curious look but didn't say anything.

The two Uchiha situated themselves comfortably, or at least, Itachi did. Sasuke, going with what his old master had always expected of him in a car, knelt on the floor by Itachi's feet.

"Sasuke, were you going to ask something back there? And you can sit on the seat."

Sasuke gulped, shifting up onto the leather-covered seat beside Itachi. "Oh, ah – nothing important, Itachi-sama."

"No, really. You had a question." Itachi waited for Sasuke to respond the car pulled out of the driveway.

Sasuke ducked his head nervously. "Ah… I was just wondering where you work."

"Oh," Itachi said in understanding. "I work for an agency called ANBU, it's an FBI affiliated organization that works with the government. We do a variety of things, most of which I'm not allowed to tell you. Suffice to say that I work with certified black ops."

Sasuke's mouth opened in a little 'O'. "Wow." Itachi smirked.

"It runs in the family. The majority of the Uchiha clan is situated elsewhere, but wherever they are and whatever they do it's usually something dangerous and combat-oriented." Sasuke nodded, looking intrigued. "You'd probably be pretty good at my job, with some training. You've got the sharingan after all."

Sasuke looked away, a little frown creasing his brow. "I… I can't imagine ever hurting anyone."

Itachi smiled slightly, but his eyes were distant. "Yeah… it's not an easy job. It's more the mental state of the agent than anything else that makes a good fighter. Of course, the sharingan always helps." Sasuke smiled at the last bit.

The two of them rode in silence for a little. Itachi was glad that Sasuke was curious about things and starting to ask more questions, and that in turn made Itachi wonder about the younger Uchiha's past.

He knew that Sasuke had been found abandoned as a child – why anyone would abandon him, though, Itachi couldn't fathom. He also knew that it would be near impossible to trace the parents, especially if they were black opps agents as well and knew how to cover their tracks, or, even worse, if his parents had been involved with the Mafia. Sasuke had been picked up by one of the slavers in town and brought to Akatsuki, the biggest, most dangerous and richest black-market organization in Asia. Once inside that organization it was next to impossible to get out. From there on, Itachi didn't know much about what had happened to Sasuke, and what he did know was garnered through supposition. The elder wanted to ask Sasuke about it, but he also did not want to pry.

"Oi, Sasuke?" Itachi said, deciding to try inquiring and see where it went.

The younger Uchiha's eyes and attention shifted immediately to the older. "Yes, Itachi-sama?"

Itachi paused as he debated how to go about asking. "Do you… would you mind if I asked you some questions about your past? You don't have to answer," he added hurriedly when Sasuke's eyes widened. Sasuke looked down nervously, a plethora of previously supressed and painful memories rushing back to him, and Itachi internally cursed himself for asking. Itachi gently brushed Sasuke's cheek with his hand and was surprised when Sasuke flinched slightly. _Damnit, I should have known better than to tough him when he's thinking about his old owner, _Itachi thought. "Sorry."

Sasuke shivered and pressed his back into the back of the seat, irrational fear flooding him. Every time he thought of his old master something similar to this happened. Most likely some form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Itachi had seen similar episodes in some of the victims in ANBU who had been through some seriously hellish circumstances – unfortunately, it had never been up to him to treat it, so he wasn't sure what to do. He just settled with doing what he always did.

"Hey," he whispered, kneeling on the floor of the car so that he was at eye-level with the younger Uchiha, instead of towering over him like he usually did simply due to the difference in their heights. Sasuke was hugging his knees to his chest, and Itachi could see the beginnings of trembling in his hands. "Sasuke," he whispered softly, taking the younger's hands in his own. "It's okay, no one's going to hurt you, it's alright."

Itachi kept whispering comforting words and slowly the boy stopped shaking, and the next time Itachi reached out for him carefully instead of flinching, Sasuke gladly melted into the embrace.

"Hey, it's okay," Itachi murmured as Sasuke practically climbed onto his lap and wrapped his thin arms around the elder's waist. Itachi tucked the boy into him securely and began stroking his hair. "Sorry I asked. I won't press you."

"'S – It's okay," Sasuke muttered, shifting so that he was sitting up in Itachi's arms, "I don't mind t-telling you some of i-it."

"You don't have to," Itachi repeated, peering down at the boy in his arms carefully. Sasuke smiled slightly.

"I know." He paused, getting more comfortable in his seme's lap. "I – I'd like to tell you." Itachi smiled slightly, running his thumb along Sasuke's left cheekbone. "What do you want to know, Itachi-sama?"

Itachi paused, thinking over exactly what he was curious about. "You were a slave as long as you can remember, correct?" Sasuke nodded. "And you were with your old owner for… how long?"

"Since I was about ten," Sasuke replied quietly. "So, around four years. I'm not exactly sure how old I am." His arms squeezed a bit harder around Itachi, but otherwise he didn't balk. "Law requires slave children to say with their parents til they turn ten, but since I didn't have parents the organization just rented me out til they could sell me permanently."

Itachi nodded and rubbed the younger male's back comfortingly. "So I'm assuming that you have no idea who your parents are or where you came from."

Sasuke shook his head again. "No, none. The only thing I know about myself is that I am an Uchiha, and that only because of my eyes."

"When did you develop the sharingan?" Itachi asked, the questions rolling off his tongue now that he'd gotten started. "How did you hide it from your owner?"

"When I was nine, Itachi-sama," Sasuke replied, and Itachi whistled lowly. _So young? _The elder thought. _I was right, he would be a good shinobi if he trained and lost the submissive attitude. "_As for hiding my eyes… It wasn't too hard," Sasuke answered Itachi's second inquiry. "My Masters number one rule was no eye contact, and slaves are supposed to keep their heads down at all times. Since I followed both those rules twenty-four seven, it was pretty easy. I knew, though, that it was only a matter of time before someone found out. Thank the gods you found me before that could happen." A deep-seated shiver ran up the small raven's back at the idea of his old master discovering his kekkai genkai.

Sasuke took a deep breath before falling silent again; that was the most the young Uchiha had spoken in a while, and he wasn't used to it. Old Master-sama had been a firm believer in short, concise answers, one word if possible. Suddenly being allowed to say as much as he wanted was a freedom Sasuke was not quite sure how to adjust to.

Itachi noticed Sasuke draw in a short breath, as if to speak, but then let it out unspoken. "Something you were going to say?"

"Ah - no," Sasuke replied habitually. Itachi stared at him with a questioning look, and eventually Sasuke spoke again. "… I was just wondering about you," Sasuke admitted, looking away. "I mean, you know everything I know about me, but I know almost nothing about you."

"What exactly do you want to know?" Itachi asked, letting the boy know in a round-a-bout way that he did not mind him asking questions.

"Well, um… I don't know, just about you. Do you have family?"

"Not really," Itachi responded. "My parents were killed on a job when I was ten and a half, and I never had any siblings. I'm only distantly related to the rest of the Uchiha clan, and their numbers have dwindled dramatically recently. There are only around five or six of us left now."

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said sadly, referring to both Itachi's parent's deaths and the decreasing number of the Uchiha bloodline.

"Don't be," Itachi replied with a tiny smile that held no warmth. "My mother and father weren't exactly what you'd call model parents. And the rest of the clan…" he trailed off there, a distant look in his coal-grey eyes. He turned fully to look at Sasuke, who was leaning forward in rapt attention, ready to absorb any tidbit of information on his past. "Sasuke… It's somewhat difficult to explain. The Uchiha are –" Itachi paused again. He gathered his thoughts, then started over. "Okay. How much do you know about our clan, Sasuke?"

"Not much, Itachi-sama," Sasuke replied. "The Uchiha are an ancient family that date back over six hundred years, to when the Sage of the Six Paths was alive. Our ocular jutsu the sharingan is one of the most feared abilities in the world."

"Do you know any of our clan history?"

Sasuke shook his head, and was somewhat surprised when Itachi grimaced and said flatly, "Good. You shouldn't be tainted by the black deeds of our ancestors."

"But… Itachi-sama, I always thought that the Uchiha were an honourable clan," Sasuke questioned.

"They would have had everyone believe that," Itachi replied darkly. "And I suppose, they did have their own inner-clan code, and as such were honourable in their own right. But did you know that I am the first Uchiha in decades to fight on the right side of the law?"

_The right side of the law… _Sasuke's mouth dropped open. "The Uchiha were _criminals?" _

"Well, 'criminal' is probably not the best word for it, but essentially, yes," Itachi responded. "Drug lords, crime ring bosses, feudal lords, human traffickers, mafia leaders, you name it, they were involved. With a kekkai genkai as strong as the sharingan, the Uchiha clan thought they could do whatever they wanted, and they hated the restrictions the government placed on them. So, the clan turned to the black market and Mafia to satiate their need for power. Our clan is saturated in centuries of bloodshed and hatred, Sasuke," Itachi said, "and I hated it."

Itachi paused, a faraway look in his eyes. "I work with ANBU now in a futile attempt to right some of the many wrongs my predecessors committed. It had become my entire life, almost an obsession – I was consumed by hatred of the needless blood my fathers had spilled. And then…" Itachi paused and turned his full attention to the other occupant of the car, a gentle smile gracing his face. "Then I found you, and I finally knew that the Uchiha name had at least some good in it. For as long as I can remember, I believed all Uchiha to be dark by nature and evil by choice. But after I met you, I had to accept that there was at least one of us that was innocent of all that."

Sasuke was shocked as he listened. Itachi-sama had seemed so calm, so collected – unflappable, as if anything bad that could possibly happen had already been thought-out and examined in his mind. Itachi-sama had also seemed kind of scary – after all he was a ninja – and Sasuke had not expected him to open up about his feelings. Sasuke had inquired about Itachi's past nervously, half expecting to get in trouble for it, but he most definitely hadn't thought he'd learn all _that. _He was glad, though, that Itachi-sama was willing to tell him.

The two Uchiha lapsed into silence for a while, Sasuke still contently settled in Itachi's arms. The younger male hadn't been outside in a long time, barring the time Itachi had brought him from his old master's residence to his home, and he wasn't sure if he liked it. The landscape of trees and other cars zooming past outside the window was somewhat overwhelming for the newly freed slave, so he simply snuggled deeper into Itachi's embrace.

A soft smile, barely visible, dusted over the elder's face. "We're almost there," Itachi said quietly. "Are you sure you're up for it?"

Sasuke raised his head and looked out the window at the multitude of people on the streets, walking on the sidewalks, and gulped. _That's a lot of people. _However, he nodded. _As long as I'm with Itachi-sama I'll be fine, _Sasuke told himself firmly.

The vehicle turned a last corner, and a large building came into view, along with a big blue and red sign that read 'Marine Land Aquarium'. Sasuke stared at the tall structure in awe, eyeing the few early customers loitering in the parking lot suspiciously.

The Volvo drifted to a stop outside the building's entrance, and the driver informed them of the obvious fact that they had reached their destination.

Itachi looked down to Sasuke, who by that point was basically clinging to his lover. _And we're not even out of the car yet. _Briefly Itachi wondered if this was the best idea, and if it was too soon for the skittish Sasuke to attempt an outing.

"If you want we can always just turn around and go home," Itachi told him gently, rubbing his back soothingly.

Sasuke shivered slightly but shook his head stubbornly. Itachi thought he was ready to try going out, and if it made his seme happy then by god he would do it. Sasuke unwound his arms from around Itachi's neck with some effort and lifted his head. "N-no, I can do it, Itachi-sama."

"Okay. If at any point you want to go home just tell me and we can leave."

Spikey hair bobbed as Sasuke nodded, and Itachi slid over and opened the door. He reached a hand out for the younger, which Sasuke gladly took, and the two slid out into the morning sunlight together.

The sounds of cars rumbling and people talking hit Sasuke's ears, and his grip on Itachi's hand tightened. Itachi put at arm over his shoulders encouragingly and began walking slowly towards the entrance. Sasuke stayed in step, practically glued to Itachi's side, coal eyes peeking out with curiosity and nervousness in equal amounts.

They got to the front desk and Itachi paid for their tickets, while Sasuke continued to observe. The building was a lot bigger than he'd been expecting – but then, he hadn't really known what to expect. His previous master hadn't taken him out much, and even when he had it was usually only to see a doctor when his 'punishments' got out of hand. Sasuke shuddered at the thought and turned his mind to other, more positive things.

"What do you want to see first?" Itachi asked when Sasuke shivered, trying to distract his uke from whatever bad memory had crossed his mind.

"Um… I don't know. W-what is there?"

"Well, let's look at a map, shall we…" Itachi located a map of the building and the two walked over. It was strange, Itachi reflected – even though he'd lived fifteen minutes away from the establishment, he'd never actually been inside the aquarium. The life of an ANBU agent didn't exactly lend itself to friendly outings.

"Okay, there's a dolphin show in ten minutes, the whale tank just down that hallway, a seal show in half an hour, and all the other tanks in the rest of this building. Of course, we'd see quite a few of those on the way to either of the shows." Sasuke nodded, then glowered at a young couple that passed a bit too close to him and Itachi for his liking.

Itachi almost laughed out loud when Sasuke frowned at the two teens – he'd never seen Sasuke even attempt to glare, and the expression was so unintentionally adorable it was funny.

Sasuke sniffed when the two interlopers left his comfort sphere and tightened his grip on Itachi's coat. He was surprised when Itachi's other arm snaked across his chest and pulled him into a possessive hug.

"You're so cute when you do that," the voice whispered hotly right beside his ear. The arm around him tightened, obviously stronger than Sasuke and probably capable of rushing his chest if he tried, and Sasuke shivered at the small display of domination. A tongue caressed his ear briefly, sending a pleasant tremor through him, and suddenly all Sasuke wanted was to be back home in private.

"Nng… Itachi-sama…"

The elder chuckled and withdrew, albeit reluctantly. Sasuke pushed back slightly in an attempt to get more attention, but Itachi moved his arm away and straightened. "Not here," he explained with a quick observation of the nearly-empty hallway. "Later."

Sasuke whined low in his throat but conceded.

"So, dolphins or seals?" Itachi inquired.

"Ah… dolphins?" Sasuke replied unsurely. It still sounded as if he was asking Itachi's permission to decide that, but it was a vast improvement. _He's getting more comfortable with me, and more confident in making decisions. _Itachi smiled at that.

"Dolphins it is," Itachi said.

The two Uchiha made their way down one of the hallways, stopping to look at the jellyfish and the sea urchins on the way. Well, rather Itachi would stop, wondering if Sasuke wanted to look at things. And look he did – once the younger Uchiha became slightly more comfortable, although he still stuck in Itachi's shadow at all times, he was all eyes. Sasuke's reaction to the jellyfish made Itachi wish he'd brought the camera; he wished he could preserve the look of wonder on the younger's face.

Soon the two lovers arrived at the large outdoor pool where the dolphin show would be, and Itachi discovered that Sasuke had a deep-set fear of open water. Small tanks he was fine with, but he balked at the idea of getting too close to the pool, so Itachi chose seats in the upper ring of chairs.

The show started within three minutes of their arrival, and once it had Sasuke was totally engrossed, his fear of open water and other people forgotten. Itachi found himself completely unaware of what was going on in the show, finding watching Sasuke to be much more enjoyable.

Sasuke's shy demeanor disappeared as he watched the dolphins leaping out of the water and doing tricks; the blatant awe on his face made Itachi wonder how often he'd been out of the house with his old owner. He thought about asking but decided that he didn't want to ruin the moment.

Twenty minutes later the show ended with a dramatic flourish, and Sasuke clapped and cheered with everybody else as the dolphins submerged for the last time and swam through the underwater gate back into their tank. Itachi's eyes softened as he watched Sasuke bouncing in his seat, craning his neck to watch the grey water mammals till the very last second.

A sudden tingling sensation on the back of Itachi's head made him stiffen, the feeling familiar after his years in the ANBU. Unconsciously his arm snaked protectively around Sasuke's shoulders.

They were being watched.

"Itachi-sama?" Sasuke questioned, picking up on the sudden tension in the air.

"Come on," Itachi said lowly, pulling Sasuke up with him. Sasuke was confused but followed Itachi closely as the elder led him out of the auditorium and back into the main building.

Once inside Itachi quickly located the exit but didn't go for it just yet.

"Itachi-sama, what…" Sasuke tried to inquire but was cut off with a warning glance from Itachi. _Wait, _it said. _I'll explain later._

Sasuke fell silent and tried to ignore the worry winding in his stomach.

Sharingan eyes scanned the auditorium that they had just vacated through the glass windows, but Itachi didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Still, he had been a shinobi for too long to ignore his instincts, and his instincts said that there were unfriendly eyes following them.

Itachi was just thankful that the area he and Sasuke found themselves in was fairly empty – if things did get messy he didn't want to cause a commotion. Guiltily Itachi cast Sasuke a quick look; the tension must be scaring him.

The taller male was just about to say something comforting to Sasuke when movement from behind them caught Itachi's eye. The older Uchiha spun and pulled Sasuke behind him, falling into a defensive stance just as someone spoke.

A deep shudder ran through Sasuke's entire body and his limbs froze in terror as the all-too familiar voice sounded, bringing back memories he would much rather forget.

"So, this is where you ran off to, un. Danna's been looking for you, brat."

* * *

><p><strong>There you have it. Next time: Intense shit happens, I promise. <strong>

**I've been trying to be reasonable with Sasuke's shyness while not making it ridiculous – I mean, the poor kid's been a slave his entire life, realistically it would take years for him to become anything even remotely resembling normal. He's probably got a boat-load of trauma related disorders… anyway, that's why he's taking so long to stop being jumpy and frightened all the time. Sorry if it seems repetitive, I just think it's more realistic.**

**Once again, I want to say something about reviews to those of you who haven't; **_**I can see you. **_**I look at my alerts and favourites list for this story, and I can **_**see the names **_**of the people who are reading but **_**not reviewing**_**. To you, I have one thing to say; shame on you! I have as many alerts to this story as I do total reviews! So, for my sake, do me a favour – please support this story if you like it. And by that I mean reviewing, not just freeloading. Thanks!**

**Many, **_**many **_**thanks to everyone who has already reviewed – you guys are my favourite people in the world, seriously. I love you to bits, and every tidbit of feedback and criticism you give me is highly valued. THANK YOU! **

**See you all next time!**

**-The Crimson Kiss**


	6. The Confrontation

**Hello all! I'm sorry I dropped off the face of the planet for a while there, I was busy trying to pass grade 12. But I'm out of school now (Yay!) so I'll have more time to write. Updates should be speeding up now :) **

**As always, a heartfelt thank you goes out to: FallenAngelFromAbove, Ughuuu, tunathecat1, anon, xXpwnageXx, SkylarOC, cherry-on-top8, SetoXSara, xXMyukiUchihaXx, Yukimura Kizaki, Cloudy Momochi, Magaly05, Shadow2485, itachiXsasuke fan, lessthanthree, ImSexy'NdINoIt, Mecheela, TheGnRFangirl, nillas Marshmellow, ImaWilburD, Ioio-Chan, Ascendead Master, Rosebunse, Always-Unpredictable and Freya's Valhalla. Also to PoisonedApples: Happy belated birthday! I'm glad that I made your day more special :) thank you for the reviews, they mean a lot.**

**Every single person named here has my gratitude for making my life that much better. Like I might've mentioned in a previous author's note, my life has sucked shit for the past few months. I've been dragged into multiple physiatrists' offices and mental health institutions, all because my PARENTS think I'm crazy because I'm Bi. But every review I get makes me smile, and in a time of my life when I almost never smile, that is incredibly valuable to me. So, just, thanks. A lot. Your words mean the world to me, thank you so much.I just hope I haven't lost any of you guys due to the delay.  
><strong>

**Anyway, out with the sappy-ness and on with the chapter. Enjoy :)**

* * *

><p>"<em>So, this is where you ran off to, un. Danna's been looking for you, brat." <em>

Sasuke was frozen. That was really the best way to describe the paralyzing, all-consuming terror that gripped him from the inside out. It latched onto him and made it impossible to move, to breathe, to even think properly.

A body was positioned protectively between Sasuke and the object of his fear, and somehow Sasuke knew that that should probably make him feel better, but all the young teen could feel was the tendrils of icy-cold terror wrapping around him.

Itachi hissed angrily as Deidara took a step closer, the Uchiha's eyes bleeding into the ruby mangekyo. He wound his arm around Sasuke's shoulders possessively, half expecting the smaller male to flinch away from him, and was slightly gratified when Sasuke attached himself to Itachi's side.

The warmth of Itachi-sama's touch penetrated the icy fear holding Sasuke still, unlocking his tongue enough to stutter, "D-D-Deidara-sama!"

The blonde bomber had been frequented in Sasuke's nightmares nearly as much as his old master was, and almost before he'd realized it Sasuke had dived behind the elder Uchiha and basically climbed onto him, getting so close he was practically melded to Itachi's stronger form. One of Sasuke's hands came up and grabbed Itachi's jacket in a death grip, and his other found and latched on to the elder's arm, and he was very grateful for the protective and firm embrace around him. A deep-seated trembling had started in Sasuke's core at Deidara's familiar voice, and he gripped Itachi harder, cringing away from the blonde in front of them in fear.

"Who are you," Itachi said coolly, sending Deidara an icy glare for scaring Sasuke, "and what do you want with him?"

"Simple enough really," Deidara replied, eyeing Itachi's sharingan cautiously. "The brat ran off. Danna wants him back."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "He _ran off_? On the contrary, when I found him he'd been thrown away. " His grip squeezed ever so subtly around Sasuke, reminding him that he would never, _ever _be thrown away again. "You and your 'danna' have no right to him now."

From the few exchanged words and Sasuke's reaction, Itachi had quickly put together that the man before them was _not _Sasuke's former master, but an acquaintance of some sort. When Itachi had rescued Sasuke he hadn't actually came face-to-face with the boy's old owner, so Itachi would have to rely on Sasuke to identify him when they saw him. Of course, if the blonde man before them had known Sasuke before Itachi found him, then his real old master might be close by.

Itachi's calm face suddenly became a little scarier as his crimson eyes narrowed threateningly. Even if the older Uchiha didn't move or outright glare, the icily calm, lethal expression said it all, and it was enough to make many full-fledged ninja turn tail and run. It said clearly that there was no way in hell Deidara would be getting Sasuke back unless it was over Itachi's dead body, and _god help him _if he tried, because Itachi would kill him first.

The blonde terrorist obviously knew how dangerous a trained sharingan-user could be, because he backed off a step. "Relax, relax. I'm not taking him back. Yet." Deidara sent a chilling smirk over to Sasuke, whose large, ebony eyes were peering out apprehensively from behind Itachi.

Itachi felt Sasuke's trembling return full-force at the last word and heard a tiny whimper escape his lips, and his eyes narrowed further. He hated Deidara for scaring Sasuke like this, for playing on the fears that were still clearly prominent.

"Danna misses his plaything, un," Deidara said, a hint of spite entering his voice. "He'll come for you, and not even your devil-eyed friend will be able to protect you, yeah." Sasuke pressed closer to Itachi, vibrating so hard he thought he might fall to pieces if he moved. "But of course, he's not your _friend, _is he, brat? Looks more like your new _owner, _yeah. What's he used you for, a beating post or a sex slave? Or both?"

Itachi growled inwardly at that. It was a low tactic to use – remind Sasuke that he was still technically a slave, and then call Itachi's feelings and intentions into question. Sasuke was still so fragile, so broken, that words like those might actually get to him.

"He's not my _slave,_" Itachi said, deciding to intervene. "And what he _is _to me is none of your concern. The fact remains that your danna got rid of him. He relinquished ownership; that means that Sasuke is no longer his to claim."

"That may be true, un," Deidara said, still leering at Sasuke, "but the brat knows just as well as I do… what Danna wants, Danna gets. If he wants the brat back then he'll have him, yeah."

"No," Itachi growled softly in a tone capable of shattering glaciers, "No he will not. I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing here, but I will tell you one thing with absolute certainty." The older Uchiha moved forward just slightly, getting threateningly close to Deidara. When he spoke again the words were quietly lethal. "Sasuke stays with me. Anyone who tries to change that will answer to me and every ANBU contact I have." The spinning crimson sharingan made it very clear what would be happening to the one who dared try.

Sasuke shivered at the angry voice Itachi-sama was using, and he had to remind himself between tremors that it wasn't him Itachi was mad at. This then served to turn his thoughts back to Deidara-sama, which didn't help.

A soft whimper escaped his lips, despite his efforts to remain silent, and his small form tensed again as both adult ninja's attention turned back to him.

Itachi's heart contracted at the small sound, and in the next second he had released Sasuke – contrary to what his instincts told him to do – and slammed Deidara back into the wall.

"Leave him the hell alone," he snarled lowly, "and tell his old owner that if he so much as _touches_ Sasuke, I _will _kill him."

In a blink of shinobi speed, Itachi was beside Sasuke again, leaving a breathless and slightly flustered Deidara gasping beside the newly formed, human-sized dent in the wall.

Wide coal colored eyes stared up at Itachi when he returned to Sasuke's side, and briefly the elder was afraid he'd scared the younger yet again – but he had no time to worry about it.

Movement from Deidara drew Itachi's eyes away from Sasuke just in time to see the blonde throw something small and white in their direction. Itachi identified the object as a clay bomb milliseconds before it connected.

Everything slowed. Itachi could easily have avoided the bomb had it been just him, but with Sasuke… with Sasuke he couldn't move fast enough. Quickly coming to that realization, the older Uchiha grabbed Sasuke and curled his form around the smaller body just as the projectile exploded.

The blast was very close to the Uchiha – too close. The older raven felt the shockwave hit him like a ten-ton buss, sending spears of agony though his entire body. Stubbornly he kept his arms, which currently felt like they were being burned off, curled around his lover, shielding the smaller body from the explosion.

Sasuke almost totally missed what happened. With his untrained civilian eyes, all he saw was Deidara throw something at them, and then the next thing he knew he was knocked off his feet with Itachi's arms around him.

The pair landed heavily several meters away from the explosion's origin point, Itachi in a world of pain and Sasuke slightly dazed. Itachi had somehow managed to position them so that his body had cushioned Sasuke's fall, the spikey-haired raven sprawled on top of him.

Itachi gasped and blinked in an attempt to clear the spots from his vision as Sasuke shifted. The older Uchiha knew his back was covered in burns, and he probably had a few broken bones from the force of the blast. In a distant corner of his mind he registered people running and screaming, but thankfully no one seemed to have been caught in the blast other than him. And Sasuke.

Sudden concern rocketed through Itachi. True, he'd shielded Sasuke from the majority of the blast, but… "Sasuke," he rasped, wincing at the effort it took to draw breath. He must be more badly hurt than he'd first thought.

Timid black eyes blinked open. "H-hai." Sasuke responded, still a bit dazed. "W-what just-"

Once again, movement cut the words off mid-sentence. Apparently the blast had been some sort of signal, because four big, muscled men burst in from two different doors, each with a gun strapped to their waists. Judging by their clothing they were obviously not security.

_Deidara's backup. _Itachi's thoughts were turning hazy, and as if in a dream, he looked down to see a puddle of liquid beneath him. At first he wasn't sure what it was, and he stared at it for a long moment before realizing with a jolt that it was blood – _his_ blood.

At first he wasn't sure how he'd been cut – logic told him that he'd been burned, not cut, so blood _should _be minimal – but then his eyes trailed further up his arms to see shards of glass slicing into his arms, cutting deep into the flesh and making way for streams of crimson. One of the fish tanks must have shattered from the shockwave, and Itachi and Sasuke had landed in the middle of the broken glass.

With the sight came a searing pain all over Itachi's body, and he almost blacked out. The explosion had created a crater in the middle of the carpet-covered, concrete floor, and the walls and surrounding area all bore severe scorch marks. A few chairs and a billboard that had been caught in the blast were on fire, flickering eerily. The lights overhead had been blown out, so the light from outside and the remaining flames were the only source of illumination.

Itachi was in agony. That was the only way to describe the feeling – half of the skin on his back had been burned away, and by the look and feel of it, his right arm and maybe shoulder were broken. It was also likely, from the depth of the slashes on his arms, that some major veins had been severed. The flow of blood was much too fast to originate from mere flesh wounds, and suddenly Itachi was reminded of his younger days, when he'd been depressed and had experimented with cutting. Of course, those days were long over, but the slices on his arms served to bring back some very vivid memories.

When the four men approached warily Itachi snarled at them, forcing himself into a sitting position and winding his unbroken arm possessively about Sasuke's shoulders.

"I-Itachi-sama!" Sasuke whimpered, worried both about his lover's state and terrified at the prospect of being taken back to his old master.

Itachi hissed in pain but glared at the men, then at Deidara, still standing where he'd been when he'd thrown the clay bomb. "Sasuke, listen to me," he said lowly, taking Sasuke's face in his hands and staring deeply into his eyes. "I'm going to have to fight them. I want you to do something for me – if anything happens and I can't protect you anymore, I want you to run."

Sasuke hesitated, fully aware that doing so would leave Itachi alone with Deidara and his goons, and for the first time in his life, he protested. "B-but you –"

"No buts, Sasuke! If on the off-chance that I lose, you run, understand?"

Sasuke flinched and nodded quickly, the instinct to obey overriding everything else. "Y-yes Itachi-sama."

Itachi felt bad for ordering Sasuke around, but if it kept him safe… If it kept him safe, Itachi knew he'd do a whole lot more than that.

While they'd been talking the four men had surrounded them at a safe distance, and Deidara had moved closer.

Itachi and Sasuke had landed in the middle of the now-deserted, high-ceilinged room, with the glass walls leading to the outdoor tank behind them. Somehow that glass hadn't shattered in the explosion, but every other object in the room was in shambles. Scorch marks spun out from the blackened crater where the bomb had landed, and a table and a few chairs were on fire.

The room temperature dropped drastically as Itachi leveled the legendary Uchiha glare at the blonde, forcing himself to his feet painfully. The older raven had been hurt before on the job, but even in his line of work his current wounds were nothing to brush off. Itachi's right arm hung at an awkward angle, clearly broken, and the burns on his back sent spikes of pain through his entire body with the slightest movement. At least his legs and main organs were all intact.

The air caught in Sasuke's chest when his protector climbed to his feet, his movements stiff and obviously agonized. _Itachi-sama… _a tear formed in the younger Uchiha's eye. Sasuke quickly scrambled to his feet also, his body by habit cringing away from the blonde.

"You are stubborn, I'll give you that," Deidara said offhandedly, eying Itachi critically. "Hand over the kid and I won't have to kill you."

Itachi's crimson eyes narrowed, and a renewed jolt of fear ran through Sasuke – what if Itachi-sama valued his own safety above Sasuke? The new fear didn't last long, however, as Itachi immediately answered both Deidara's spoken statement and Sasuke's unspoken fears.

"Go to hell," the older Uchiha said flatly. Then, he moved.

Sasuke didn't even see what happened. One moment Itachi-sama was next to him, and the next he was gone.

A scream of agony made him flinch and snap his head around to see one of the four surrounding men fall to the ground, his neck twisted at an awkward angle. A blur of a dark shape moved from the body to the other three men, the form moving so fast that to Sasuke it was just a brief shadow. A fleeting, dangerous, _lethal_ shadow.

In seconds the four men were either dead or unconscious, and Itachi returned once again to Sasuke's side, reverberating waves of pain rushing through his body at the quick movements.

Deidara didn't even have time to be surprised, much less run. He looked away from the still bodies of his henchmen, blonde hair fanning out in a yellow arc from the speed of the motion, and was caught immediately in Itachi's crimson mangekyo.

Time seemed to slow for the blonde terrorist as fear flooded him. Then time _did _slow, as Itachi hissed a single, low word, a possessive and protective fire burning in his sharingan eyes and a small smirk pulling ever so slightly at his lips.

"Tsukuyomi."

* * *

><p><strong>Three words – Deidara. Is. Fucked. <strong>

**I do eventually plan to show you guys the scene where Itachi first rescues Sasuke in the form of a flashback, but as of yet I can't find a spot where it fits in. Maybe I'll just write it as a separate chapter and put it up that way.**

**Once again, thank you to my reviewers, you guys are keeping me out of the mental institution :P well not quite… but almost. Anyway, the point is THANK YOU! Love you all!**

**Thanks for everything guys! Feedback is much loved :)**

**Oh and, to those of you who are reading and have _still _not reviewed... I can still see you. Y'know, just so you know.  
><strong>

**- Crimson and Neko-san **

**／l、**  
><strong>ﾞ（ﾟ､ ｡ ７<strong>  
><strong>l、ﾞ ~ヽ<strong>  
><strong>じしf_, )ノ<strong>

**UPDATE: I _am _still working on this, I swear. Next chappy should be out by the end of July, so sorry for the delay.  
><strong>


	7. Damage Control

**I'm not dead! Bet you all thought I was though, and for that I sincerely apologize. **

**I want to thank each and every one of you for your reviews, especially those of you who said something about my being Bi... when I'm constantly being dragged to counsellors and therapists who tell me I'm 'a mentally confused young woman', I start to wonder if I really _am_ insane like they say... and then you guys review, and suddenly I have confidence in myself and my orientation again. So, just, thanks... it seems like a really small word to convey such an amount of gratitude though... so, really, really, really, REALLY thanks! :) **

**I've been going through the process of finding somewhere new to live, which is part of the reason it took me so long to update. This story is not dead, I swear, nor will it ever be til it's finished. There may be a while in between updates, but I always finish what I start.**

**Anyway, I ramble. Many thanks to,**

**Maidenrose, KokoroNoIro, Aki, nillas Marshmallow, The Girl Who Lost Her Name, FragileBlueButterflies, skylarOC, NoelleisParadise, Yukimura Kizaki, Nightwhisp, mangayaoilover, BlackNinja0227, Sarahhansen93, RavenKnight, I-burned-half-my-brain-cells, DaMomo, Arithena, Freya's Valhalla, JackyNovalis, uk3-obeys-seme, XxpwnagexX, Ioio-Chan, PoisonedApples, lessthanthree, TheGnRFangirl, CloudyMomochi, Mecheela, Rosebunse, Madhara, Always-Unpredictable, FallenAngelFromAbove**

**And those of you who reviews as 'guest'.  
><strong>

**I love every single one of you, thank you so much for everything, and I really hope I haven't lost any of you due to the delay. On with the chapter! **

* * *

><p><em>Time seemed to slow for Deidara as the blonde bomber caught Itachi's eye. Then time <em>did_ slow, as Itachi hissed a single, low word, a possessive and protective fire burning in his crimson eyes. _

"_Tsukuyomi."_

For five long, agonizing seconds, the only sounds in the room were Itachi's pained breathing and Sasuke's quiet crying. Then the smaller raven flinched as Deidara suddenly snapped back from his transfixed position with a sharp cry, his legs giving out from under him. Deidara cast Itachi one long, horrified look before his body buckled and he collapsed.

A wince made its way across the older Uchiha's face as pain seared though his eyes; using Tsukuyomi like that in his condition was very taxing.

From behind the older, Sasuke was shivering in fear. The entire situation had terrified him, but it was seeing Itachi-sama hurt so badly that frightened him the most. Then a new thought occurred to Sasuke, and his knees gave way as the terror increased and the traumatizing events of the past few minutes caught up with his frail body.

What if, after seeing how determined Deidara-sama and old Master-sama were to get him back, Itachi-sama decided that he wasn't worth the trouble and just gave Sasuke back? Old Master-sama surely only wanted Sasuke back so he could torment and then kill him with his own hands; being sent back would be a death sentence! And Itachi-sama had actually gotten hurt because of Sasuke…. Surely he'd finally be angry with Sasuke now!

In that moment, every reassurance Itachi had ever given him, every gentle word, flew out the window, leaving only the lonely, terrified slave behind.

Sasuke was already expecting Itachi-sama to punish him for causing such a ruckus and getting him wounded – after all even nice people like Itachi-sama had a breaking point and Sasuke was fairly sure they were past it – but he'd gladly take any punishment the long-haired Uchiha gave him if only he'd allow Sasuke to stay with him.

Still, Sasuke thought sadly as habit forced him into a low bow, head to the ground, considering the amount of grief he'd caused his saviour it wasn't likely he'd be allowed to stay. Itachi-sama had been so kind already, putting up with Sasuke's mistakes and transgressions without even a harsh word, but that would certainly end now. Old Master-sama had always said that when a slave caused any trouble, any at all, it should immediately be disposed of because it was more trouble than it was worth. Thankfully Uchiha-Master-sama didn't seem to think that… but then again, this was a lot of trouble Sasuke'd caused him. Fourteen years had taught Sasuke that even the nice people turned on him when their own safety was in danger.

So Sasuke bowed, trembling, and prayed to the gods and the stars and every deity he'd ever heard of that he'd be punished by Itachi-Master-sama instead of abandoned or sent back. The possibility that Itachi might not be angry with him in the first place didn't even cross his mind.

_Please don't send me back Itachi-sama, please don't, please, please, please… _

Itachi, for once completely unaware of Sasuke's inner turmoil, had his hands full with other issues. Mainly, staying conscious long enough to call some of his ANBU friends to clean up the mess and pacify the press and police when they got there. If this little incident went public it could quickly become very tangled. So, awkwardly and with much wincing, Itachi dug his phone (which had somehow survived the explosion) out of his pocket and began texting. When that plan failed due to the fact that he only had his left hand to work with, however, he just hit dial and held the device up to his ear.

"Whaddaya want, asshole?" a groggy voice mumbled over the line a few seconds later. "Goddamn it, my head… you better have a good reason for waking me up before noon."

"Naruto," Itachi said, "I need your help."

"What with?" the hung-over ninja inquired, his tone becoming slightly more alert.

"Can't explain everything now," Itachi answered. "Can you get a damage-control team together and to the aquarium in fifteen minutes?"

"Gimme ten," the Uzumaki responded, all traces of grogginess gone. Sounds of fabric rustling and footsteps on the other end told Itachi that Naruto was already moving. "Need a detainment crew to?"

"Yes, and a bomb expert if you can find one."

"You better explain everything when I get there," Naruto warned.

"Hn," Itachi muttered as an affirmative.

"This under the radar?" Naruto inquired.

"Hai," Itachi replied.

"Got it, Naruto said seriously. "It'll have to be people we know then… man, Gaara's gonna kill me for getting him up, he drank way more than I did."

"Naruto," Itachi interrupted as a wave of pain washed over him, reminding him of the severe burns on his back and the broken arm. "Hurry, alright? And… bring a medic."

Then he hung up.

Itachi glanced over his shoulder briefly to ascertain Sasuke's safety – sadly it didn't surprise him to see the small raven cowering on the ground, obviously expecting severe repercussions, or worse. Itachi would have to deal with that later, because right now he had to start on damage control before the press arrived. He'd have to fix the problems Deidara had caused with Sasuke after they got home.

Sasuke felt his master's – lover's? – eyes land on him before they immediately flickering away again and the teen cringed, pressing his forehead harder to the ground with a whimper. Itachi-Master-sama's lack of recognition was almost worse than punishment.

For a slave, a master's punishment was always painful and frightening, but it did usually mean that the master saw enough potential in the slave to bother correcting his faults. If a master no longer cared enough to even discipline his slave, it only ever meant one thing – that the master had reached the end of his patience and the slave or pet was no longer worth keeping, even if just to hit. Said slave would then either be re-sold or simply killed, depending on the amount of money they would sell for. Any way it happened, the slave was disposed of.

If Itachi-sama didn't even want to _look _at Sasuke anymore then surely his fate was already sealed… Itachi-sama would send him back to his old master to die slowly and painfully, or perhaps he would just leave Sasuke at the aquarium as prey for whoever found him first. In his master's eyes Sasuke didn't even deserve his punishment anymore… Sasuke's hands curled into little fists and his breath hitched painfully as he came to that conclusion. Maybe if he begged him Itachi-Master-sama would show mercy and keep him, even if it meant punishment. Considering everything, though, Sasuke thought that further forgiveness wasn't likely.

Those thoughts ran through the younger raven's head in the space of just a few seconds.

Just as Itachi was putting his phone back into his pocket movement caught both Uchiha's eyes from around the corner to their left, and Sasuke whimpered, thinking that if there was a threat Itachi-sama wouldn't be protecting him this time. However, it was just the aquarium security forces instead of Deidara's goons.

The group of three men and two women ascertained that the immediate danger was gone and then warily approached, eyeing Itachi carefully and Sasuke curiously.

"Sir, if you don't mind you're going to have to come with us," one of them said to Itachi.

"No need officer," Itachi said, pulling out his ANBU credentials. "Uchiha Itachi, FBI." Normally the first thing that'd happen was that they'd get Itachi to a doctor, but considering the public setting and the fact that there were four unconscious goons and one possibly mentally damaged bomb expert lying on the floor in the middle of an explosion crater… Itachi decided that he owed them at least a brief explanation.

Sasuke stayed kneeling subserviently, body folded in on itself, as Itachi-Master-sama began to sort through the legalities. Thoughts of going back to his old home flittered though his mind, followed by the slightly better but still terrifying option of being abandoned. Of course there was always the possibility that Itachi-Master-sama would allow Sasuke to stay as his pet – not likely – but then there would undoubtedly be punishment for what had happened. After all, it was Sasuke that Deidara had come after, so it was automatically Sasuke's fault what had occurred, and that of course meant that it was Sasuke who should be punished.

The little slave shook silently; he'd never been so scared in his life. He wasn't just frightened of the idea of being alone or abused again, he was afraid of being separated from the only person who had ever been kind to him. Yes, Itachi-sama had said he'd free Sasuke officially, but he hadn't yet, so Sasuke was still technically his possession – a possession that had just caused an untold amount of trouble.

At any other time on any other day, Itachi would have noticed his little raven's distress immediately. However, this was not any other day, and at the moment, Itachi was having trouble even staying conscious. From where he was speaking with security, Itachi's vision began to flicker. About three minutes into the conversation things started to go grey at the edges, and his attention snapped back to the on-going words being spoken only when one of the officers inquired,

"Are you alright, Mr. Uchiha?"

A slight wavering in Itachi's upright form was the only response to the concerned woman's question.

"Come on, we can deal with this later," she said, taking his uninjured arm gently. "I'll bring you and your slave to medical." Itachi only nodded dazedly, too distracted to correct the word 'slave' as she firmly pulled him away. "My name is Shizune, by the way. We have a medic on hand, you'll be fine."

Itachi didn't bother telling her that he'd been doing his job for almost a decade and he knew he was nowhere close to fine. They were a few steps down a hallway marked 'staff only' when Itachi realised that Sasuke hadn't followed.

Sasuke was conflicted. Itachi-sama hadn't given the order to follow and if he no longer wanted to keep Sasuke then it would make sense that he didn't want him around. But sensing Itachi-sama moving away from him, leaving him alone, made tears spring to Sasuke's eyes and a sob to his throat. Then the words from his master came, bringing a swell of emotions with them.

"Come on, Sasuke." the short phrase was all the light-headed elder Uchiha could manage.

Sasuke started at the order and the hastened to obey, heart racing. There were no good alternatives for him at this point, Sasuke knew that. But maybe if Itachi-Master-sama still wanted Sasuke with him then he might survive the day. The littler Uchiha scrambled up and darted to Itachi-Master-sama's side quickly, keeping his head deeply bowed and eyes lowered the whole way.

Itachi was worried about Sasuke – in the past few minutes he'd completely reverted back to his slavish behaviour, and that was never a good sign – but Itachi knew he didn't have the physical or mental strength to reassure him at the moment. It was quite possible, the older Uchiha reflected blandly, that he'd pass out at the next step. The world really was going blurry at a ridiculously fast rate…

Shizune gasped as Itachi swayed, and she shifted her grip so that she was holding his shoulders and could support him if he collapsed.

"It's just a little further," she reassured, looking nervous. It was obvious that she was inexperienced in dealing with these types of situations; as an aquarium security guard, one did not have severely wounded shinobi stumble in on a regular basis. Still, Shizune kept her cool and did her best to start solving the problems, which in this case meant getting the half-unconscious ninja to medical as fast as possible.

A few minutes later Shizune, Itachi and Sasuke arrived at a boring-looking door labeled 'first aid'. Shizune shoved the door open with her foot and helped Itachi inside; or at least, she _tried _to help him. However it was around this point that the taller raven's stubborn Uchiha pride kicked in, and he politely but firmly shrugged her off and walked in under his own power.

"Looks like our medic is slacking off again…" Shizune glowered at the conspicuously empty room. "You can go on in, I'll fetch him quickly." She then left to hurry down the hall, muttering what sounded like curses at the absent doctor under her breath.

Sasuke followed Itachi inside the room and shut the door, eyeing him with awe and concern. Sure the little raven was currently afraid of Itachi, but at the present moment he was more afraid _for _Itachi. The elder had stayed stoic and strong up till that point, but how long would that last with his injuries?

The room tilted as Itachi swayed, and without thinking Sasuke darted forward in an attempt to help, grasping Itachi-sama's left arm worriedly. Then his blood turned to ice as he realised that he was _touching _his master without permission, and Itachi-sama was already probably angry with him, and oh god help him Itachi-sama was looking at him with those bright red eyes… those eyes that were capable of taking down a ninja like Deidara-sama in five seconds flat.

Sasuke shivered and cringed away, a tiny whimper slipping past his lips, and he dropped Itachi's arm as if it had scalded him. Now, Itachi may have been severely wounded and on the brink of unconsciousness, but there was no way in hell he was going to observe that kind of reaction from his Sasuke and let it go.

The elder raven glanced around the room and quickly located a chair, which he sank into gratefully. Once he no longer had to concentrate on walking the pain dimmed slightly, and he called Sasuke over quietly. He'd been hoping to try and reassure him later, when Itachi was more adept for the job, but now he knew it couldn't wait. Too much damage had been done to wait.

Sasuke's heart jumped into his throat and then sank into his stomach at the quiet summons. Oh Kami-sama, this was it… whatever was going to happen to him was going to happen now. Thoughts of being returned to his old owner, punishment at Itachi's hands or worse abandonment ran though his mind, and the slender raven quivered as he slunk over to stand in front of Itachi-sama and then fell to his knees, touching his forehead to the ground before his master's feet.

Itachi did his best not to frown at the subservient, frightened way Sasuke was acting. Heaven knows he didn't want to give the boy another reason to think he was mad at him.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he decided to start it off with something basic, "And please get up." Maybe reassuring Sasuke with the rudimentary facts first was a good way to go… so Itachi was surprised when the first sentence caused a dry sob to fall from Sasuke's lips and his trembling to double in strength.

The simple phrase _I'm not going to hurt you _meant something entirely different to the younger Uchiha than it did to the older, especially in context. While Itachi meant it to be a form of reassurance, Sasuke's slave-trained mind took it as _I'm not going to punish you. _Now, as far as Sasuke could see it was his fault that Deidara-sama had hurt Itachi-sama, so logically, he should be punished for it. But the words _I'm not going to punish you_ were, to the abused boy, synonymous with _you're not worth punishing. _That then equated to _you're not worth keeping._

So it was that when Itachi said he wasn't going to hurt Sasuke, Sasuke heard instead, _I'm not going to keep you, _which was the cause of the teen's current distress_. _

"P-please, M-m-master, please don't s-send me away," Sasuke begged, sobbing and on the verge of hysterics. He was breaking every rule he knew protesting against what he perceived as his owner's decision, and under normal circumstances it would have gotten him beaten within an inch of his life, but… "Please, please let me stay with you! I know I have no right to ask master anything but please, I beg of you to keep this slave. I-I want to stay, p-please…" the last word was more of a whimper than anything. He trailed off, shivering and crying, wondering if he'd just earned himself an immediate death sentence and whether or not he'd even realize Itachi-sama had moved before he was dead. Then again, that might be a good thing, seeing as the other option was a slow death by torture…

It took several years of practice at controlling facial expressions for Itachi to keep his jaw from dropping. Apparently Deidara had done even more damage than he'd thought.

"I'm not sending you away." The words didn't seem to get through to the distraught little raven, who didn't reply, move or stop quietly crying. Itachi sighed and, ignoring the pain the movement caused, slid out of the chair to sit on the ground with Sasuke. "Sasuke, sit up," he instructed in a firmer tone. One thing Itachi had learned in his weeks dealing with Sasuke's slavish tendencies was that sometimes, if the smaller Uchiha became too terrified to listen to reason, a firm hand worked better than a purely gentle one in reassuring him.

True to Itachi's expectations, Sasuke reacted more to the stronger tone and sat up, obeying immediately simply out of habit. "Y-yes M-master." His tone was extremely soft, and his head and upper body were still bowed as subserviently as possible.

"I want you to listen to me carefully, can you do that?" Itachi asked, still in the firm tone. Sasuke nodded quickly, his lower lip trembling slightly and his breath coming in short, shallow bursts. "Okay. Sasuke, I am _not _angry with you, nor am I going to send you away or hurt you. This mess is not your fault; it's Deidara's fault for coming after you." At the mention of the blonde bomber Sasuke's trembling worsened, small fingers curling into nervous fists, and Itachi hurried past it. "Nothing has changed, I still care about you, and there's still no way I'm letting you go anywhere."

Now, Itachi had told Sasuke innumerable times that he wouldn't hurt him, but he'd never actually told the boy that he wouldn't send him away. Hell, Itachi hadn't thought he needed to. He was seriously regretting that oversight now, as he watched Sasuke's frail frame shudder as sobs ran through it.

Sasuke's panic was beginning to subside slowly, but the strong fear was still blinding, blocking out everything other than the intense terror and the desire to stay with the man in front of him.

Then the words slowly began to sink in, and when Sasuke actually computed and understood the meaning, he couldn't believe it. Itachi-sama wasn't angry with him? How was that even _possible_? Anybodywould be angry at Sasuke, it was the only logical reaction!

"B-b-but it's my f-fault m-master got hurt!" Sasuke stammered, wide black eyes staring up at Itachi in confusion.

"No it's not," Itachi contradicted gently, "it's Deidara's, you had no fault in this. And it's just 'Itachi', remember?"

Sasuke stared at him. Then he stared some more. After a few seconds passed and Sasuke's expression didn't waver Itachi got slightly worried, but just as he was about to say something else the younger raven beat him to it.

"You- you're not gonna send me back?" the words were whispered in a very small voice, and the uncertainty and fear in it nearly broke Itachi's cold stone heart.

"No," the elder said firmly. "No, I'm not, not now and not ever."

The disbelief was still prominent in Sasuke's face, but there was hope there to. However, he still flinched when Itachi moved, as if considering taking thew younger into an embrace. Itachi paused, then sighed, a renewed wave of exhaustion and dizziness swept through him.

"Sasuke," he began again, "Do you remember what I said to you about freeing you?"

"H-hai," Sasuke said, looking down.

"Then why..." Itachi wanted to ask why the boy had gotten so scared but really, he figured, he pretty much knew the answer to that. Still, it hurt that his uke didn't have more faith in him. He settled with saying, "Nothing could possibly happen that would make me change my mind about you."

Sasuke still looked a bit doubtful, so Itachi elaborated. "It doesn't matter if I have to fight for you or if I get hurt doing it, my... feelings... remain the same." The elder hesitated before saying the dreaded 'f' word. He'd spent the majority of his life trying and succeeding in suppressing his emotions; to openly admit that he had feelings for the boy was an interesting sensation. Of course he'd done it before, but Sasuke was in such a fragile state he needed to be reassured often, which resulted in Itachi being slightly more open with his emotions than he was used to being.

The fear was slowly abandoning Sasuke, leaving him feeling drained and tired in the wake of such powerful emotion. Itachi slowly reached out to Sasuke again and, when the younger did not cringe away, drew him into a one-armed hug.

The contact shattered the last remnants of fear in the younger's heart, and in the next second he had latched on to the older Uchiha's side. A quick intake of air on Itachi's part reminded the younger to be mindful of the multiple marks, cuts and just-forming bruises on the elder's skin.

"Sorry," Sasuke muttered, shifting away so that he wasn't causing Itachi any discomfort. Itachi's eyes softened slightly, and he pulled the smaller raven back gently, ignoring the small jolt of pain that ran through his system at the motion.

"Don't mind me."

A tiny blush dusted over the younger's cheeks at the closeness, and he buried his face in Itachi's jacket to hide it from the older. Itachi noticed but didn't say anything, instead allowing a small, knowing smile to flit over his stoic features.

_He is too cute. _Itachi paused at the random thought. Sure he knew it was true, but... cute? Should the word 'cute' even be in his vocabulary? Itachi rolled his coal-grey eyes and decided that as long as the word was never spoken out loud, he was damn ready to admit that Sasuke was fucking adorable.

A new thought occurred to Itachi, and just as it did his sensitive shinobi ears picked up the faint sound of approaching footfalls.

"Hey, Sasuke," Itachi said quickly, getting the other's attention, "Do you trust me?"

Sasuke's immediate reaction to that question was wariness, but that quickly melted away in face of their most recent conversation. "Mm-hm. But, why, Itachi-sama?"

Itachi slowly withdrew his hand from around Sasuke and winced his way into a standing position, a feat that was much more difficult than it should be.

"Two reasons. One, I don't think I'll be awake much longer. And two..." the footfalls were much closer now, "my friends are almost here."

At the last sentence Sasuke's eyes widened impossibly, obviously the idea of other killer-ninja was quite nerve-wracking. He made to say something, a small note of oncoming panic in his voice, but Itachi stopped him with two simple words.

"Trust me?"

Sasuke stared up at him, raven hair falling against porcelin-white skin, and then nodded firmly. "Yes, I do."

Itachi gave a ghost of a smile, the skin of his face a sickly pale shade. "Then believe me when I say they won't hurt you. I trust these people with my life, so if I'm not around, make sure you stay with one of them, okay? If they ask, tell them you're my boyfriend, they'll look after you."

Sasuke nodded bravely, and even his untrained ears could hear the quietly approaching footsteps now.

"Oh, and Sasuke?" Sasuke nodded, focusing all his attention on Itachi's quickly weakening voice instead of the louder, worried voices outside the small room. Itachi met his eyes and put an unsteady hand on his head, playfully ruffling the stubborn spikes. "I love you."

Then the eldest Uchiha's vision flared white and then black, and he crumpled to the floor just as the door burst open before his team.

* * *

><p><strong>And there you have it. Next chapter will probably be a flashback of Itachi rescuing Sasuke, it feels like the right time to show you guys that now. <strong>

**Once again, thank you ever so much for everything, and for reassuring me that I'm _not _mentally confused. You guys are amazing :) I would not be where I am today without the support from you.  
><strong>

**Okay, I did my bit, hacked and struggled and forced this chapter into existence. Now here's the part where you click that little blue button and tell me what you thought! :)  
><strong>

****Thank you all very much!  
><strong>**

**- Crimson and Neko-san**

**／****l****、****  
><strong>**ﾞ（ﾟ､ ｡ ７****  
><strong>**l****、ﾞ ****ヽ****  
><strong>** じし****f_, )****ノ**


	8. The Day I Met You (part I)

**I'm back... after what, three months? It's terrible. Ah well, what can I say, life tried to kill me. But I never forgot about this story, I thought about you guys every day. The thought of giving up never even crossed my mind, it just took me a while, for which I apologize. **

**A thousand, billion thanks to; LilyToTheLake, MikoUchiha, dxilph, Aarriena, .Demon., Hydraciolous, Gerdhr, Roasted, Aki, Decromanci Calcifier, NightmareMidnight-Destini, SaRang Child, TiggerTails, Evangeline, Raven, cece3457, illogicalstarz, essebes, Itachi is KICKASS, lessthanthree, Sasseria Davies, I-burned-half-my-brain-cells, skylarOC, Mistress-Zutara, NoelliesParadise, XxpwnagexX, bellatrics, FallenAngelFromAbove, Cloudy Momochi, ImSexy'NdINoIt, Rosebunse, FragileBlueButterflies, Acsendead Master, BlackNinja0227, Ioio-Chan, cynder81, Always-Unpredictable, The lady loves the dark, and KokoroNoIro. **

**Every single one of you has made an immense difference in my life and has helped me keep going with this story, and for that I am extremely grateful. **

**I would also like to give a specific shout-out to FallenAngelFromAbove, LilyToTheLake and Acsendead Master for messaging me and letting me bounce ideas off them. You guys are awesome. **

**On with the flashback!**

* * *

><p>(FLASHBACK: Three weeks before chapter 1)<p>

It was silent in the Shadow District, as the dangerous back-alleys surrounding the more shady parts of town had been dubbed. Usually, even in the bitterly cold early morning hours there was movement here – drug dealers or sex traders selling their wares, prostitutes advertizing, or perhaps the occasional slave-dealer – but on that night, everything was completely silent and still.

The only sound was the faint pitter-patter of rain as it hit the icy concrete. It was cold out, abnormally so for mid-February, but it didn't really matter as all the occupants of the dark houses were inside with their blankets and heaters.

The reason for the street's abnormal state of emptiness was quickly explained when three very close gun shots rang through the icy air. These were obviously not the first shots in the past few minutes, but they were the loudest, and more than a few occupants of the houses grabbed phones or flipped open mobiles and dialled 911.

Everything was disrupted when a dark figure darted out of an adjacent alleyway and made its way, with disturbing grace and speed, to the center of the road, before plastering itself to the brick wall of a nearby building.

Two larger forms followed, almost as fast as the first, but two more shots shattered the silence as soon as they showed themselves. One jerked back with a spray of blood and landed heavily on his back, unmoving. The second staggered as the bullet impacted with devastating force on his upper leg but did not go down.

It would have been better for him if he had.

The first figure, a man with long ebony hair and a delicate, almost pretty face, aimed his weapon again and fired. Crimson eyes narrowed as instead of taking his enemy out, the bullet zipped _through _his target's hand, causing him to shriek and drop the black hand-held gun. Another lethal _bang, _and the bulkier body hit the ground, dead on impact.

Silence reigned again, seeming so much thicker and more menacing after the display of violence.

The single survivor straightened and tucked his gun away, only to tense and squeeze the handle again as a faint moan sounded. Was one of his enemies still alive? He quickly scanned the half-lit street and determined that no, both opponents were definitely dead, judging by the size of the crimson pools spreading beneath them.

If he had been any less experienced he would have thought the quiet, pained sound to be his imagination and walked away – but he _was _experienced, and he knew it wasn't, so he didn't.

Another sound, a whimper this time, brought his head snapping around to his left and the gun to a ready position at shoulder-level. He pinpointed the general location, behind a large metal garbage bin, and cautiously approached.

Logic and ANBU training told him that this could be a trap and that he shouldn't be approaching head-on, but instinct told him that the only sources of danger in the dark street were bleeding on the pavement behind him.

He wouldn't be alive still if he hadn't trusted his instincts in the past, so he trusted them now.

It was very dark, so the man transferred his gun to his left hand and dug into a pouch hanging from his belt. He withdrew a compact flashlight from amidst an assortment of weapons and a pair of handcuffs, and then flicked it on and shone it in the direction he thought the whimper had come from.

What he saw stopped his breath in his chest.

Huddled on his side against the wall, nearly swamped by the surrounding bags of garbage and old trash, was a young teen that looked like the older male's miniature. At least, he _would _have looked like the older's miniature, if he hadn't had blood all over his face from a deep cut on his forehead and marks all over his body. The skin visible in the dark lighting was covered in bruises, to the point where the ninja couldn't even tell what the boy's original skin was like because it was all black and blue, with sickening patches of yellow and black dotted throughout. The discoloured flesh was drawn tightly over his bones, obviously the product of near-starvation for many years, and in places it was torn by what looked like deep, overlapping whip marks. The elder was willing to bet the teen's back was much worse.

Wetness began to seep into the back of the older male's coat as the rain increased in strength, and he wasn't surprised to see a hint of white in the falling liquid. If the black-haired child had been out here for any length of time, he'd be frozen to death already, not even considering the near-life threatening injuries, severe abuse and starvation.

At first the tall raven thought the kid was dead.

Then another whimper caught his attention. The teen was lying with his back to the wall, curled in on himself with the toxic-smelling garbage gathered around him in an ineffective shield against the freezing temperature.

The boy twitched slightly when the shinobi's footsteps stopped above him, and painfully he moved his head up to look at the person shining the light on him. It obviously took a lot of effort; the small movement made the skin under the bruises go whiter in pain, but that was nothing to the fear that set in when the smaller raven caught sight of the older. Then the slave went limp again, falling back to the icy-cold road.

The boy shivered in fear as footsteps approached. He had heard the gunshots, and he knew that the one approaching him was obviously the one who had fired them. His Master had known that this area of town was the most dangerous – that's why he'd dumped him there. 'Someone will've raped your dirty holes and stuck a knife in you by morning', was what he'd said when he shoved the slave out of the car and onto the road. His owner had officially abandoned him, so there would be no help from a gun-toting killer there.

The larger male stopped before the child's prone and helpless form, unintentionally towering over him in a very intimidating manner. It took all the boy's strength to look up at the one who would be killing him, but he was partially blinded by the glare of the flashlight so he couldn't see who was holding it, just the glint of a hand-held weapon and the bottom of the Akatsuki ninja uniform.

He went limp with a tiny, final whimper and surrendered, waiting for the gunshot that would end his life. Of all the people to find him, a ninja from Akatsuki was the absolute worst. If he got a bullet to the head he'd be lucky.

However, when nothing happened and the silence stretched on, he peeked out from behind his bangs again, more fear filtering in. What if this guy didn't want to just kill him, what if he wanted to rape him or beat him? What if it was something worse? At least if he shot the slave first he wouldn't be around for anything that happened after. The beaten teen opened his mouth to beg for a quick death, but something else came out.

"W-who are you?" the severely weakened boy croaked, his young and usually soft voice made rough by the soreness of his throat and the blood seeping past his lips, probably originating from broken ribs. The youth's body was in so much pain, battered and bruised and broken in so many places, but the fear at the sight of an obviously strong ninja towering over him briefly overpowered everything else.

The tall, dark-haired stranger paused and glanced down at the abused raven's face. He quickly catalogued the black leather collar and and concluded that the young boy was obviously a slave, and one not in his master's favour, seeing as someone had beaten the boy practically to death. Apparently the one who did this did not want the child back.

"Doesn't matter who I am. I was never here."

A shadow of stubbornness lit in charcoal eyes that for so long had held only fear and sadness. Hell, the slave was dying anyway. He knew it, and this strange, beautiful man with devil eyes knew it. What was there to fear now?

If he had been fully aware, he would never have spoken the way he did. But he wasn't fully aware, in fact he was very close to unconsciousness, so why bother being afraid?

With that knowledge, the child was much more forward than he usually would have been. "Yes, you _were_ here." a cough abruptly rattled the slighter body, a deep, hacking cough that originated deep in his chest and grated over his lungs and airways before escaping his lips in the form of a thin spray of red. "Why?"

The tall form cocked his head, strands of ebony hair shadowing crimson eyes. "Why do you want to know?" The words, _you're dying, why do you care? _Were quite clear, if unspoken.

The teen let his head fall to the wet pavement again, suddenly having lost the strength to hold it up. "Because..." he whispered, the words nearly lost to the sound of falling rain. "You're the last person I'll see before I die."

The simple words stirred something in the older raven's ice-encased heart. It wasn't pity. It wasn't compassion. It wasn't greed or the calculation that the boy would make a fine slave if he survived his current injuries. There was just something about the broken boy, already resigned to death, that refused to allow the Uchiha prodigy his usual mask of indifference. And in that split second, he made a decision he'd never made before – he made the decision to _help_.

"My name is Uchiha Itachi," the ninja said, kneeling softly beside the downed teen, "and you will not die tonight."

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for Itachi to carry the boy back with him to ANBU headquarters. The tiny raven was unconscious – he'd passed out from pain when Itachi had picked him up – and Itachi quickly dropped him off in the infirmary to wait for him as he went to give his mission report. The kid would be fine in the hospital wing for a few minutes.<p>

If it hadn't been a weekend Itachi would've gotten one of the medics to take a look at him, but seeing as it was Saturday night, most of the good medics were either off work or on-feild. The only medics left at the base were interns, and Itachi made it a habit to not trust interns. He wasn't a bad medic himself, he'd take care of the boy when they got home.

"Ah, Itachi," Namekaze Minato said as the Uchiha entered his office. The yellow-haired ANBU leader set down the paperwork he was reading and turned his startling sapphire eyes to the raven before him."I take it your mission went well?"

"Hn," Itachi replied. "Well enough."

"You got the information on Akatsuki?"

"Hai," Itachi said. "Everything went mostly as planned. I infiltrated and then stole the intel we needed. I'll send in a full report later."

Minato nodded. "Well done. You got out undetected?"

A barely detectible wince crossed Itachi's sculpted features, more from annoyance at having an imperfection marring his latest mission than anything else. "That was the one thing that did not go according to plan. I was on my way out with the information when I was intercepted by the Akatsuki's ninja lackeys. Nothing serious, but I had to kill them."

The man behind the desk absorbed the information without blinking. "I see. Well, we got the information and you arrived back safely, so I would consider this mission a success."

The Uchiha nodded and shifted on his feet. "If that was all..."

"Why in such a hurry?" Minato asked curiously.

"I picked up an extra on the way back, an abandoned slave," Itachi explained. "I thought I'd keep him, he's waiting in medical now."

"Rescuing an abandoned slave? That's unlike you."

A tiny line appeared between Itachi's eyes, his version of a frown. "I know. I did not rescue him for the sake of rescuing him, but..." he paused here, as if trying to find the reason behind his own actions. "He'll be useful, if he lives."

"Mm." The leader of the ANBU department looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, keep me informed. And if it's not too much trouble the agents in intel would like to see your report as soon as possible."

Itachi nodded and turned to leave, only to pause as Minato spoke again.

"I'll get someone to register your new... companion, and assign him an identification number. If he was abandoned then he'll need to be put into the system again, or risk not being able to find him if he's stolen or runs away." Minato hesitated to say the word 'slave' and Itachi suddenly remembered that the blonde agent had always seemed uncomfortable with the prospect of one human being owning another.

_Hm, that's probably where Naruto gets it from. Must run in the family. _

Itachi did not comment on his superior's statement, instead he offered a shallow bow and excused himself from the office.

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later, Itachi shoved his front door open with his foot and closed it in the same manner, then made his way into the living room and lay the boy in his arms down on the couch.<p>

He removed his weapons belt and ninja pouch and quickly popped upstairs to his room to put them away. He then returned to the living room and stared at the boy on his couch.

The deep cuts, rough gashes and multiple bruises on the boy's flesh looked even more sickening in better lighting, and Itachi was almost reluctant to attempt treating his broken ribs and bloody back.

Still, no time like the present.

The very first thing Itachi did was remove the black leather collar digging into the flesh on the boy's neck. There was something so inherently wrong in having another human being collared like an animal that Itachi felt he had to get if off immediately.

That, however, was easier said than done. The collar was thick and made of some of the toughest leather Itachi had ever seen, so much so that even his wire cutters failed to get through it. On top of that it was also a few sizes too small, and had probably been fitted onto the boy a few years prior.

There was a small lock located at the back of the collar, the key to which Itachi obviously did not have. What he _did _have, however, was professional training in lock-picking.

A few deft, precise stabs of a hairpin later and the collar slid off the boy's neck, revealing what was probably the only strip of unmarked skin on his entire body. That taken care of, Itachi turned his attention to the more serious issues.

Gently Itachi moved the boy to the carpeted floor and retrieved a medical kit from the front hallway. He then proceeded to relieve the slave of his shirt, torn and stained almost beyond recognition, and his pants, which were little better. This left the boy in nothing but a pair of old boxers that were in serious need of repair.

The sight of the kid's bloody back, more whip marks than skin, set Itachi's mouth in a hard line. The Uchiha had never been the overly compassionate type, but this kind of abuse was just over the top.

There were some things that should never be allowed to happen.

Itachi quickly cleaned and bandaged the cut on the boy's forehead, before he set about disinfecting and bandaging his back. That took him the better part of half an hour, during which Itachi marvelled at how thin the teen was.

As part of his job Itachi has seen a lot of fucked-up shit, like kids starved, beaten or bled out, or children as young as four raped to death, but this kid looked just as bad as the dead ones Itachi had seen, minus the obvious evidence of rape.

It was like those clips you sometimes see of concentration camps of the World Wars, with people so starved and decimated they seemed to be more bones and skull than flesh, more depraved creature than human being. The child resembled a skeleton covered in a thin layer of white, bruise-mottled skin - how he was still alive, Itachi did not know. His flesh was stretched so tightly over his frame Itachi could see every bone in his body; the older man didn't even need to check to know the slave had at least three broken ribs. The breaks in the bone were clearly obvious to the naked eye, the skin around it was discolored to a sickly black-purple color. Another few hours in that alley, another three days without food, or another day without treatment, and the kid would have been dead.

A soft sigh escaped the Uchiha as he taped the last of the bandages over one of the deeper whip marks. Thankfully the kid was still unconscious; Itachi was willing to bet that the entire process would have been a lot more difficult if he'd been awake.

Finished with his back, Itachi gently turned him over and did a basic check-over for major injuries he might have missed. He found a few small ridges in the bone of both the little raven's legs and one arm that would suggest old, improperly healed breaks, but the injuries looked to be at least a few years old, so there was little he could do without re-breaking the bones and setting them again. Now, Itachi wasn't a bad medic, but he wasn't a great one either, and he knew better than to try something like that by himself. He also braced and bandaged the broken ribs, after which he searched the kit for a needle of painkillers and injected the boy with it. The kid would probably be scared and in a lot of pain when he woke up; might as well try to make it as easy as him as possible.

There was one slightly positive element to all this, Itachi thought darkly. None of the cuts or whip lashes on the boy's frail body were infected. The young raven's body was littered with wounds of all kinds, but at least it was clean.

_Looks like his old master made sure to bathe his pet, _Itachi thought, a sliver of cold, hard anger appearing in his eyes. _Bastard. _

Itachi sat down beside the boy on the floor beside the couch and looked the kid over once more. All the major injuries had been attended to, so all that remained was the extensive bruising and the occasional cut or scrape. Itachi frowned as something else caught his eyes – he leaned forward and picked up the boy's arm, paying close attention to his wrist.

The ninja hadn't noticed immediately because the wounds were not serious or obvious, but the flesh around the boy's wrists was severely scarred, as if from metal handcuffs or restraints done up too tightly. The skin had been ripped open and healed so many times that there were permanent lines and red marks where the manacles used to lie, as if the flesh had been torn open to the bone one too many times, and – were those _burn _scars? With a sickened feeling Itachi realized that a good portion of the marks were burns, probably from red-hot shackles being fastened onto the child till they cooled, most likely as a twisted form of punishment.

The elder felt slightly nauseous, and Itachi replaced the kid's arm gently, the softness of the movement contradicting the anger he was feeling. The taller raven had never been strictly against slavery – after all, he lived in a world where it was commonly accepted – but he'd always believed that slaves should still be treated decently. They were possessions, yes, but they were still living beings who could think and feel.

Honestly, seeing the state the boy was in was making Itachi re-consider his opinion of Minato; if this kind of abuse happened regularly, then he didn't blame his best friend's father for being against slavery. Personally the Uchiha preferred to hire a maid to clean his house when he was away for weeks on end, rather than buy a slave, which was what most people did.

A soft gasp brought Itachi's attention back to the boy – he was waking up. First there was a small twitch of a finger, then a barely perceptible flutter of eyelashes. Itachi stood and drifted away a little to give the teen some space, but remained close by.

A moment later coal black eyes slowly slid open, slightly dulled by the morphine in his system. Still, even dull the black orbs captured Itachi's attention immediately, like they were trying to draw him in, like they were two black holes in space pulling everything towards them. Itachi hadn't noticed in the ally, but the slave was probably very beautiful, when he wasn't starved to death or beaten black and blue. The eldest shook off the sudden fascination and watched coolly as the boy observed where they were.

The young slave's gaze locked in confusion on the room around him. There was fear in his eyes, and uncertainty, but when the slave's eyes drifted to the side and he saw Itachi towering over him his expression morphed into one of absolute terror.

The kid had good reason to be afraid, after all, Itachi reflected, the boy had no idea where he was or what the older man might do to him. And coming from a former master who liked to fasten red-hot chains on him... no wonder. In fact, the elder Uchiha thought, it would be shocking if the child didn't have a complete meltdown.

As soon as the slave registered Itachi's presence he flinched and scooted backwards, his face sheet white and panicked. However Itachi had placed him quite near to the wall, so the boy couldn't go far before his back hit it with a dull thump. Realizing that he could escape no further, the boy curled in on himself, whimpering and cringing, as if to shield himself from oncoming blows. He pressed his trembling form as far away from Itachi as the room would allow and just shook silently, terror practically radiating off him in waves.

The little slave was scared, more scared than he'd ever been, to the point where logical thought had fled his mind, leaving in its place only the animal instinct of fear and dread. He was too vulnerable, too starved, too weak to run, and far too mentally broken to think that this ninja, this man who was _so much stronger than him, _had anything other than torment in store for him.

There was just one thing to do, the slave realized. Throw himself at this man's mercy and beg him to make it quick. This man with eyes the same as his own could break his body and very soul if he chose, but perhaps... perhaps if the slave pleaded well enough he could earn himself an immediate end. Although if the shinobi was going to kill him quickly, then he wouldn't have brought the slave back to his house...

So the slave uncurled from his ball and fell into a graceless bow at Itachi's feet. He waited for the man who was for all intents and purposes his new Master to speak first. Nothing gained more punishment than speaking before someone else.

The elder Uchiha was at loss for a split second, but then he took a single step back, away from the boy's trembling, cowering form. "You shouldn't move around too much," Itachi said in what he hoped was a calming voice. Of course, Itachi killed for a living, so 'calming' probably wasn't his forte... "I might have to reset your ribs, and we don't want that." The boy flinched when the taller raven spoke, peeking out from beneath ebony bangs cautiously. Itachi waited and concentrated on looking non-threatening – a difficult task for the Uchiha prodigy.

When the shinobi didn't make a threatening move or even tell the smaller raven to do anything, the slave boy carefully moved from his cringe against the floor into a submissive but slightly more formal kneeling position.

"I-it was you th-that f-f-found m-me?" the boy whispered quietly when Itachi didn't go to say anything else.

"Yes," Itachi responded, glad to have at least gotten a coherent question out of the teen. He ignored the renewed fear that crossed the abused slave's face at his answer and continued. "I have recently found myself in need of a slave, and I happened to come across you in the Shadow District on my way back from a mission. I did the logical thing and picked you up."

The kid nodded, but his fear did not decrease. It was quite possible that this man was just playing with him, telling him that he was his new owner while intending to do something awful to him later. It was common knowledge that terrible things happened to slaves abandoned in the Shadow District – gang rape and brutal murder being only two of them. But if there was even the smallest chance that this man really did want to keep him as a slave then the boy knew he was very fortunate.

Then that thought computed completely – if this man was serious then he was the slave boy's new Master. But this man was also a ninja. His fear rocketed upwards again as he came to that conclusion. His old Master had always made it very clear that Sasuke was a useless slave and deserved punishment and beatings on a regular basis, but if this man was a ninja then those punishments and beatings just got a lot worse, perhaps even fatal. Of course, that was all amusing that this wasn't a joke or trick and the ninja really did intend to keep him alive, even for a little.

He whimpered quietly and bowed lower, hoping desperately that this new Master was a merciful one. Until the mask broke, or if it did, the boy would have to believe the ninja meant what he said about making the slave his.

"What's your name?" New Master asked.

The slave stammered out the reply he thought least likely to anger the man who now owned his body and soul. "W-whatever M-Master-sama w-w-wishes t-to call th-this slave."

"I wish to know your original name," his Master said, sounding slightly impatient. The boy cringed even lower in his bow, a small whimper trying to escape. He hadn't meant to annoy New Master... would that kind of misstep be fatal here?

"I-it's Sasuke, M-master-sama. I-I'm sorry, p-please forgive th-this slave..." he trailed off with a yelp and shied away when Itachi moved slightly, expecting to be hit or worse for his mistake.

Itachi paused when the boy flinched at his minuscule movement, then sighed inwardly. Maybe taking in such a severely abused slave hadn't been one of his best ideas... but he'd saved the boy now, there was no going back.

"Relax, you won't be punished unless you've done something intentionally disobedient. I'm not going to get angry at you for not answering the way you think I want you to."

Sasuke peeked up at his new Master in disbelief – really, he wasn't in trouble? Confusion and relief surfaced in equal amounts.

_I hope I'm doing the right thing being thankful... _"Th-thank you M-Master-sama," he whispered, then ducked his head.

"Hn," Itachi muttered.

Well, Sasuke figured, 'hn' was better than a negative reaction. At least it seemed like he wouldn't be beaten for speaking here.

Itachi observed the kneeling boy apathetically. In all honestly, he wasn't sure what was supposed to happen next. Sasuke was obviously waiting for him to say something or give an order, but having never owned a slave before, Itachi was somewhat out of his element.

Sighing, Itachi decided to do what he usually did when he wasn't sure of something – pretend he knew what he was doing and then go Google it. Embarrassing, perhaps, but even Uchiha couldn't always have the answers to everything. The internet, on the other hand, was all-knowing.

"So, Sasuke, I suppose I should go over the basics with you."

Sasuke gulped and nodded. What would he be doing for New Master? With a shiver, he hoped that it wouldn't be something awful, like being a living beating post or a sex toy, but of course he had no choice but to submit to whatever desires his new Master had.

"For now, I want you to focus on healing, and once you've had a good night's rest I'll get the housekeeper to show you your duties. You won't actually start working for a while though. The maid is only around for three weekdays, so your job will be to keep the house tidy and such when she's not around, and any odd jobs that come up. Basically just taking care of things here, it's simple enough."

Sasuke nodded to show he understood, but Itachi's next words made his blood turn to ice.

"Boy, why are your eyes red?" Itachi was concerned. _Last time I checked I was sure they were black. _

The slave froze, fear building. Shit, his kekkai genkai must have activated...! He'd had the sharingan for a while now, but he'd always managed to hide it... figures a ninja would be more observant. He was also, due to his non-existent training, unable to turn it on and off at will, which resulted in it erratically activating and deactivating.

"U-um, they-they're n-not, M-m-master-s-sama...?"

"Don't lie to me."

Sasuke flinched back violently. He was well aware of how prized the sharingan was; he'd always known if his betters found out he'd probably lose his eyes... and a blind slave was worthless. He also knew that lying to a Master was one of the worst offences he could have committed, especially a Master who had acquired him for free and therefor would be losing nothing by putting a bullet in his head.

The slave prostrated himself on the floor before Itachi's feet with a small sob, shaking like a leaf. "I-I'm s-s-sorry M-Master-sama, p-p-please forgive this slave, I-I just... P-please Master-sama, please don't! I d-didn't mean t-to -"

"Enough," Itachi cut him off. He knelt down beside the trembling, emaciated form, ignoring the way the teen's entire body cringed away from him, and lifted the boy's head.

"Open your eyes," he ordered Sasuke, who currently had them scrunched shut.

Sasuke let out a quiet sob but obeyed, half expecting his new owner to pluck his eyes out then and there, but no such thing happened. Yet.

The quick glance at the slave's face confirmed what Itachi had thought he'd seen – the three-tomoe crimson sharingan.

_A slave with the Uchiha kekkai genkai. Interesting. _

"Well, that was unexpected," Itachi said, almost to himself. As an afterthought the elder activated his own Sharingan, just in case the kid's was a fake or implanted, but a quick glance though crimson eyes at Sasuke's chalkra network told Itachi that the slave was indeed born an Uchiha.

He released Sasuke, and was surprised when the slave returned to his groveling position.

From below his new Master, Sasuke was terrified. What would New Master do with him now? Would he remove his eyes? Obviously his new owner was an Uchiha and had a sharingan of his own, so he wouldn't want to take Sasuke's for himself, but there were always people on the black market who would pay a pretty penny for his kekai genkai. Or maybe his Master would allow Sasuke to keep his eyes instead, but then there would surely be punishment for trying to hide it from him. Or maybe this was just the kind of excuse New Master was looking for to torture and kill him.

The slave was saved from wondering about his many possible fates, each worse than the last, when Itachi spoke again.

"There are a number of rules I want you to follow. Rule one – never lie to me."

Sasuke cringed; great, hardly five minutes into serving his new owner and he'd already disobeyed. He sniffed and bowed low again, brushing Itachi's boots with his forehead. "I-Im s-s-sorry M-Master-sama, p-please punish th-this slave as you see f-fit."

The elder raven blinked; he hadn't meant to imply that he would hurt the boy. "Let me rephrase," Itachi said, removing his feet from under Sasuke's forehead and ignoring the cringe said movement caused. "In the future, do not lie to me. I see no reason to punish you for it this time. You were probably scared, correct?"

Sasuke hesitated, then nodded slowly, hoping that that was the answer his Master was looking for.

"And you won't lie again, will you?" Sasuke shook his head furiously. "Well then, consider this a warning." Sasuke nodded, confusion and thankfulness once again welling up in equal amounts. That was the first time that anyone had let him off with a warning for anything, especially for an offence as serious as lying.

"Rule two – do what I tell you. Fairly standard behaviour here, I don't think you'll have trouble with that one." Sasuke shook his head again. "Rule three – don't leave the house unless you're with me or you have my permission. And, the last rule; try to stay out of my way. I enjoy peace and quiet, so while I'm here, keep out from underfoot and we'll get along just fine."

Sasuke waited til he thought New Master was finished speaking and then stammered, "Y-Yes Master-sama, I understand."

"Good," Itachi said. "Now, most of those rules won't come into effect til you're healed, so for right now all I want you to do is stay still and try not to hurt yourself anymore. The spare bedroom's full of boxes and such, so you can't stay there... the couch should do. I'll ask the maid to clear it out the next time she's here, but til then, will you be alright on the sofa?"

Sasuke blanched, surprised. 'Alright on the sofa'? What was that supposed to mean? It couldn't possibly mean that _he _was supposed to sleep there. And yet his owner was staring at him, waiting for a response. Sasauke gulped and stammered out the two words that he'd probably used the most often in his life. "Y-yes Master-sama," he replied quietly, still not quite believing that this new Master was allowing him to sleep on his property instead on the ground somewhere.

"Well then..." Itachi trailed off briefly, going over what needed to be done before they could sleep. "I'll bring you a blanket, why don't you lie down?"

Sasuke's eyes popped – really, a blanket? For _him_? The wonders in this new place never ceased.

New Master left, presumably to get the blanket, and Sasuke gingerly crawled over to the couch, before guiltily climbing onto it. He would've walked, but he wasn't sure if he trusted his legs to hold him up at the moment.

Once situated on the couch, Sasuke waited uncomfortably, unused to sitting on anything other than the floor. His stomach clenched painfully, reminding him of his near-starvation state, but he'd have to wait for New Master to notice and take pity on him.

It was only now that the boy noticed that his wounds had been tended to. His head felt slightly fuzzy, and as Sasuke examined his bandaged body he realized that New Master-sama must've given him painkillers while he was unconscious. He cocked his head in confusion; why would new Master give him painkillers? Usually the case was that the medication was worth more than the slave, so no one wasted medicine on slaves in the first place.

This new place is very confusing, Sasuke thought, bewildered. He fingered the bandage on his left arm absently as he waited nervously.

Upstairs, Itachi grabbed an extra blanket from his closet, then as an afterthought added a pillow to the pile. He made his way downstairs again and re-entered the living room to find Sasuke perched carefully on the couch. The slave was running his hand over the fabric of the armrest with an expression of awe on his delicate features, like he couldn't believe he was allowed to touch something so soft.

A totally uncharacteristic surge of positive emotion caught Itachi off-guard at the sight, but he quickly squashed it and cleared his throat.

The slave jumped and yanked his hand back guiltily.

"Here's the blanket." Sasuke hesitantly took the bundle of cloth, casting Itachi fearful glances all the while, as if afraid he would be struck for accepting the offered object. Itachi didn't comment, saying instead, "I figured I'd give you a pillow to." The surprise on the small raven's face at that statement sent a twinge of irritation towards the kid's old owner through Itachi.

"Th-thank you very much M-master-sama," the boy whispered, hugging the pillow.

Itachi's eyebrow twitched as once again, some weird, nicefeeling flitted through him.

"Don't mention it." Itachi turned away, firmly crushing any and all emotion with the ease of years of practice. "Get some sleep. The maid is coming early tomorrow morning, I will ask her to show you around and get you settled in properly."

"Yes Master-sama," Sasuke replied, snuggling into the blanket. He winced as an old wound sent a jolt of pain through his body.

Itachi was almost out of the room when he paused. "Oh, and Sasuke?"

Sasuke's head snapped up. "Y-yes Master-sama?"

The elder raven allowed his gaze to cool. "Don't even think about running away. If you do the consequences would be most... unpleasant."

Sasuke shuddered and shrunk into the couch, vivid images of what could happen to him if he ran or displeased his Master searing through his mind. "Y-y-yes Master-sama, I understand."

"Good." And with that Itachi switched the light off and left the boy alone.

Sasuke blinked in confusion as his Master turned the light off and left – wasn't he going to chain Sasuke up? All owners chained their slaves at night, it was considered a security risk to leave them loose. At the very _least _New Master was expected to put a collar with his name and information on it around his neck, so that the authorities could find him if Sasuke did somehow get separated from him. Maybe he just forgot?

The teen waited for Itachi to come back with manacles and chain him to the wall, or with a collar of some kind, but he did not. Still, Sasuke waited for a good while, and when fifteen minutes passed and there as silence from upstairs, the slave was forced to believe that his owner had simply gone to bed.

_... what the hell? _

The slave was befuddled, and the morphine in his system wasn't helping his state of confusion. Then it occurred to him that he was disobeying a direct order.

_Get some sleep_, his Master had said.

Sasuke squeaked and lay down quickly, irrationally hoping that no one had seen his disobedience, and closed his eyes.

_New Master doesn't seem so bad..._ he thought foggily. Of course, he knew that the harsh treatment and beatings would come later, but for the moment he was content to relax into the most comfortable bed he'd ever had and thank the stars that he hadn't died in that alley. Soon his eyes began to drift shut, and eventually Sasuke descended into the world of dreams more peacefully than he had in years.

* * *

><p>It was sometime in the darkest hours of the night, between very late and very early, when Sasuke awoke with the gut feeling that something was out of place.<p>

Obsidian orbs slid open slowly and attempted to look around, but of course, it was dark so there was nothing to see. Still, something felt off.

Then with a jolt he realised that he was lying on something _soft, _and with that everything came back in a rush of clarity – his old Master's abandonment, nearly dying in that cold, dark alley, gunshots and paralysing fear, and then New Master saving him. Then there were more muddled memories of his conversation with his new owner, dulled by the painkillers that had been fogging his mind.

Now that Sasuke was awake and the medication had worn off, every bruise and abrasion on his body began to ache terribly, and he winced as his ribs in particular throbbed mercilessly.

A quiet whimper escaped the young slave as he shifted on the couch.

The couch.

Sasuke's breath froze for a split second, and then he vaulted off the sofa as fast as his injured body would allow. He tried to think past the knots of fear and pain coiling in his stomach and invading his thoughts - had New Master given him permission to be on the couch? He wracked his brains for a few long, agonizing seconds, but couldn't remember. The memory issue was probably due to the medication that had been messing with his head.

Just in case, Sasuke straightened out the blanket and pillow on the couch as neatly as possible, fumbling a bit in the dark. He wasn't sure what New Master's rules were about sleeping arrangements or if Sasuke was allowed to touch his property, but he really didn't want to get his Master angry. Better safe than sorry.

After fixing the couch Sasuke made his way around the room, careful not to knock anything over. He located a corner between the wall and what felt like a bookshelf and settled down on his knees, squeezing his body into the tiny nook. Once settled he leaned against the wall and prepared to wait out the rest of the night.

_New Master has been very kind so far, _Sasuke though sleepily. _I'll do my best for him, and maybe when he turns violent he won't hurt me too badly._

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so before you say anything, I know that things are moving quite slowly, but I really wanted to get into how bad Sasuke's PTSD is before I move things along, hence the first part of the flashback being somewhat... well, uneventful. More will happen next time, I promise. <strong>

**I have some bad news – the flashback was so long I had to split it into two parts, but the good news is I already have most of the second part written, so it won't take nearly as long as this one did to get out.**

**Thank you all for everything, the reviews and criticism and encouragement. I know I've said this before, but... I would not be where I am right now if not for all of you. Seriously, you guys have been amazing, I am astounded at the support this story has gained. Did you know when I started this story I thought it wouldn't get more than one or two reviews per chapter? You guys have blown my expectations out of the water. THANK YOU! **

**If I hadn't had you telling me that being Bi is okay and my parents are the crazy ones I would not be here. Thank you all so very, very much. **

**As always, reviews are appreciated... if I haven't lost you due to the delay. :O what did you guys think? **

**See ya later!**

**- Crimson **

**／****l****、**

**ﾞ（ﾟ､｡７**  
><strong>l<strong>**、ﾞ****ヽ**  
><strong>じし<strong>**f_, )****ノ**


	9. The Day I Met You (part II)

**I'm back! Took me long enough, huh? I apologize... a family member passed away recently, so writing hasn't really been my top priority. But it's here now, so I hope you enjoy.**

**A world of thanks to;**

**UchihaKitten, Akumanosaiainoko**, **ClosetGoth, Hyperactivebookworm, ****Turri, ILOVEANIME123, black55widow, WaffleNommer, MissArtNinja, leia, , DeceptionsMistriss, Lyzzytt, Hosannah, XxpwnagexX, Trixon, Evangeline, Hydralicious, Hello Mitty, Ioio-Chan, NoelliesParadise, KokoroNoIro, essebes, Cece3457, Sasseria Davies, Ascendead Master, Lilytothelake, rosebunse, **

**And, of course, to everyone who reviewed as 'guest'. Every person listed here had made an immense difference in my life, my relationships (I am now dating a girl, mostly thanks to your support :)) and my personality. I love you all, thank you so much. **

**I would also like to extend a personal note of thanks to my Beta FallenAngelFromAbove, who read through this chapter and caught all my errors, and who has let me bounce ideas off her. You're awesome!**

**I had one person ask me if I intend to become a published author – sadly I do not. I'd love to but I have plans to go to Japan as an English teacher. But who knows, maybe someday. **

**Well, enough of me talking... on with the chapter! **

* * *

><p>(STILL THE FLASHBACK)<p>

In the pale morning light of mid-winter, Uchiha Itachi jolted out of his sleep suddenly.

Instantly on the alert, he slipped out of bed and drifted almost casually over to the dresser which contained his weapons pouch. He was tense, sleep forgotten, and his ears were perked for the sound that had woken him in the first place.

There it was again – a faint cry.

Concerned, Itachi left his room and headed to the main floor. Once there he paused and listened, but no more sounds were forthcoming.

Itachi peeked into the living room and was surprised to see the couch empty, and his new slave asleep on the floor by the bookcase.

_Did he move in his sleep? _Itachi wondered as he entered the room fully. _And why was he crying? _That question was answered when Sasuke suddenly jerked in his sleep, as if from a phantom blow, and yelped loudly, twisting his head from side to side. _Ah. A nightmare._

Itachi approached quietly, and even in his sleep Sasuke whimpered pitifully and cringed away from him, as if subconsciously sensing his nearness.

The taller Uchiha was just about to softly shake the boy awake when he woke unbidden. The pale teen's body jerked ramrod straight and his eyes flew open, obviously sensing the unfamiliar surroundings. He drew in a short, frightened breath, glanced around, and then saw Itachi. The elder realized a split second too late that he had not yet withdrawn the hand he'd intended to wake Sasuke with.

Sasuke jumped with a cute squeak when he first registered his owner towering over him, but then he zeroed in on the hand extended in his direction. Bad memories flooded his mind in a tidal wave, and like most abused slaves would have, he immediately assumed that he was about to be hit for something.

Itachi's hand dropped back to his side and he took a quick step back when Sasuke fell at his feet, bowing as low as was physically possible. The little raven was shaking, and from his position he could have literally licked the elder Uchiha's feet. For a sickening moment Itachi thought he was going to, but then the slave spoke instead.

"I-I'm sorry!" he cried, cowering. "P-please don't h-hurt me. I'm sorry, please!" Sasuke wasn't sure what he was apologizing for, but he'd learned that whenever a hand was raised to him it was better to just get on his knees and beg for mercy, even if he didn't know what he'd done wrong. Maybe Itachi-Master-sama was mad because he'd slept on the sofa. He cringed against the floor and continued pleading. "P-please, I beg you f-forgiveness, Master-sama. I won't d-do it again!"

Itachi listened to the boy and cocked his head curiously. Was it completely wrong to be turned on by that? Suddenly Itachi felt like sick paedophile, and he had to stamp out the beginnings of arousal. No, he insisted to himself, watching the boy beg at his feet was _not _turning him on. He shrugged it all off and interrupted the young slave, who was still spitting out apologies.

"Boy, you have done nothing wrong. I wasn't going to hit you."

Sasuke paused, blinked, and then slowly sat up from his groveling position, disbelief still prominent on his features.

"Unless, of course, you have done something to warrant punishment?"

The small, pale raven froze up all over again and cast a quick, guilty look at the sofa. His Master didn't say anything else, so Sasuke took his prior statement as a question and answered shakily, "I-I s-slept on the c-couch, M-Master-sama." he ducked his head, fully expecting pain of some kind, and was surprised when his Master just sounded amused.

"Slept on the couch? Did you forget that I said that was okay?" There was a hesitant nod on Sasuke's part, and suddenly his reaction made more sense to Itachi. The elder raven chuckled slightly. "Relax, I put you on the couch. I'm not mad at you." He bent down and brushed the boy's shoulder gently. "Come, it's almost time for Chiziru to get here, we should eat first."

Once again Sasuke was bewildered, but he followed the pressure on his shoulder and stood obediently, then followed Itachi into the kitchen. The whole way his head and eyes were lowered, and once they entered the kitchen he found an out-of-the-way corner and knelt in it silently. He wondered if his new Master would feed him or starve him, probably starve him. Most slave-owners liked their possessions thin to an anorexic state, and besides, Sasuke knew perfectly well that he wasn't worth wasting food on.

A thin line appeared on Itachi's forehead, his version of a frown, as he observed the boy's overly submissive behaviour. But he didn't comment on it as he went to the fridge and withdrew the components of a healthy breakfast for two.

About halfway through making a batch of pancakes the doorbell rang, making Sasuke jump.

"Oh, that'd be Chiziru, she's the maid." Itachi said. "Sasuke, would you please go answer the door?"

Sasuke scrambled to his feet at the request and bowed. "Yes M-Master-sama!" He scurried out quickly, and if he hadn't looked so nervous, Itachi would have thought it was endearing.

A light knocking sounded as Sasuke ran to the door and unlocked it. The door swung open and a pretty, blue-eyed girl stepped into the house. Her skin was pale, almost as pale as Sasuke's, and her hair was a rich dark brown, but despite her initial attractiveness there was something in her face that made Sasuke wary.

"Oh," she said coolly, eyes narrowing as they alighted on Sasuke. "Who are you?"

Sasuke bowed deeply and answered, "I-I am Itachi-Master-sama's new slave, Ma'am."

"I see," Chiziru said, eyeing the bruises and scars that riddled his body disdainfully. Of course, she was somewhat familiar with Itachi and therefor was fully aware that it was not him who had done this to the slave, but it was still unpleasant to see. She looked around quickly for Itachi but didn't see the elder Uchiha. "What are you called?"

The pale teen blanched, obviously still not used to having people ask him that, and then stuttered, "S-Sasuke, Ma'am."

"I'd really prefer it if you didn't call me that," Chiziru said. "Makes me sounds like an old lady."

Sasuke was surprised, but he scrambled to obey anyhow. "Y-yes Chiziru-sama."

"Where is Itachi-san?"

"In the k-kitchen, Chiziru-sama."

The woman nodded and brushed past Sasuke, making her way inside the house.

"Ah, Chiziru-san," Itachi said when her and Sasuke entered. Sasuke quickly left Chiziru and knelt in his corner, eyes down, doing his best to appear small and blend in with the wall.

"Hello Itachi-san," Chiziru said. "Is it just the usual duties today?"

"Actually," Itachi said, turning the frying pan off, "I was hoping that you could clear the guest room out and help Sasuke get situated comfortably. Also, would you mind running into town and picking him up some clothes?"

"I suppose I could pick some things up from the mall," Chiziru agreed. "He's about my little brother's size, so it should be easy."

From his corner, Sasuke was working very hard to keep his jaw from dropping. His Master couldn't possibly have just asked Chiziru-sama to get Sasuke new clothes, could he? It must be some kind of test to see if he'd believe them. Sasuke whimpered lowly in the back of his throat and shrunk a bit further into the wall, trying desperately to seem unnoticeable and avoid drawing his Master's attention. However, that plan didn't succeed for long.

"Sasuke," his Master said, "Go with Chiziru and help her clear out the spare room, okay? I'll call you down for breakfast when it's ready. Chiziru-san, you know where everything goes?"

"Hai," the pretty girl replied at the same time that Sasuke said, "Yes Master-sama."

Sasuke blushed and followed Chiziru out of the room, skirting his Master carefully on the way out.

Once upstairs, Chiziru quickly set about moving the cluttered boxes in the spare bedroom into more organized piles, and then moving said piles down the hall to the large, mostly-empty closet, or down the stairs to the garage. She must have sensed how dizzy Sasuke was starting to feel, because she refused to let him tackle the stairs with a heavy load and only ever handed him the lightest boxes, and scolded him when he tried to pick up a pile that she deemed too much for him.

"Oh, Sasuke, don't bother with those ones," Chiziru said, taking the newest pile of heavy-weight cardboard containers from the slave. "Those are full of breakables, I don't want you falling with them." Sasuke surrendered the boxed hesitantly and wondered if she was going to get mad at him for being useless. Chiziru turned away and set the boxes down, privately thinking that the slave should have been fed before being asked to help with work.

Sasuke quickly dropped his gaze from Chiziru's back as she turned around, half-way expecting to be in some sort of trouble for being unable to carry the boxes. So naturally he was surprised when she said,

"Would you go back downstairs and tell Itachi-san that you need to eat something before you can work?"

A vivid image of what his previous Master would have done if Sasuke had said that to him flashed before Sasuke's eyes. Demanding food was one of the most sure-fire ways to get a slave beaten, and surely this woman knew that. "B-b-but Ch-Chiziru-sama!"

Chiziru raised a warning eyebrow at the protest. "Yes?"

Sasuke blanched and bit his tongue. "N-nothing, Chiziru-sama." the slave lowered his eyes but hesitated to go downstairs, prompting an impatient noise from the maid.

"Well, go on then! You're useless to me like this."

A small shiver ran through Sasuke's body, and reluctantly he left the room and headed down the stairs. He wasn't sure what he was going to do once he got there. Chiziru-sama must have known that asking his Master for food would get him into trouble, but Sasuke couldn't exactly disobey her either. Either way he was defying someone, which meant that he was definitely in for some kind of punishment. He wondered sadly if Chiziru knew he was most likely going to get beaten for requesting food.

Far too soon the slave had arrived back in the kitchen, where his Master's deceptively lithe and slender form was just turning away from opening the window over the sink. Sasuke hadn't really noticed before, with him being scared out of his wits and all, but his new Master didn't actually _look _that intimidating. Sasuke knew to be frightened of him, because he'd seen Itachi kill people and Sasuke knew he was a ninja, yet just in appearance his new Master seemed like an ordinary young man. But while Itachi was capable of blending into a crowd flawlessly, Sasuke was aware he was also capable of slaughtering said crowd. His form, while only slightly more muscled than the average twenty-four-old male's, was obviously strong enough to break Sasuke's in half if his master felt the urge.

After a few seconds of silent observation Itachi turned to face Sasuke, sensing another presence in the room, and Sasuke almost had a heart attack when his eyes accidentally met his owner's crimson sharingan. All thoughts of his Master not looking scary disappeared in a puff of smoke and drifted out the window, then evaporated into the atmosphere and turned into nothingness, never to be thought again.

The slave flinched and threw his eyes to the ground, shrinking in on himself. He waited for his owner to lash out at him for the show of disrespect, either physically or verbally, but nothing happened. When he was not chastised for the brief rudeness, he quietly slunk over to his Master and lowered himself to his knees, then placed his forehead on the ground before his owner's feet and waited, like his old Master had taught him to do when he carried a message.

The older raven was confused. "Ah, Sasuke, what are you doing?"

Accepting that as permission to speak, Sasuke sat up and responded, "Ch-Chiziru-sama w-w-ished me to t-tell M-Master-sama that I am u-useless to h-her in this s-state and th-that this slave required f-food before it can w-work properly."

Sasuke didn't usually use third person, nor did he particularly like addressing himself as an 'it', but he had found that it sometimes made masters less angry, and therefore he was hurt less, so he gave it a shot. After all, Itachi-Master-sama was bound to punish him for daring to ask for food. "Oh, and I-I'm sorry I l-looked at you M-Master-sama," he tacked on, wincing. _Great, two infractions in one go. _Sasuke shivered in fear and hoped desperately that his owner was in a forgiving mood. He was still severely wounded from the parting beating his old Master had given him, he wasn't sure how much more abuse his fragile body could take...

"Ah, don't worry about it," Itachi said. Really, the boy was apologizing for looking at him? "And I was about to call you down for breakfast, everything's just about ready. Why don't you stop kneeling and go sit down?"

"Wh-what? B-but, I mean..." Sasuke bit down on his shocked protest with a gasp. _Great, go and defy an order from Master, why don't you? You're just asking to get yourself punished. _"I-I mean y-y-yes M-Master-sama! P-please forgive this slave, I d-didn't m-mean to p-protest!"

Instead of backhanding the slave viciously across the face, the usual treatment that Sasuke had come to expect when his Master thought he was defying an order, Itachi ruffled his hair lightly and said, "Relax, you haven't done anything wrong. That was hardly a protest, anyway. Go on and sit at the table."

There was a beat of silence during which Sasuke stared at the floor disbelievingly, before snapping to attention and darting over to the table. He knelt beside one of the chairs and tried to stem the overwhelming confusion inside him.

Never in his life had anyone reacted the way Itachi-Master-sama just did, to anything. No matter what he was asked to do or what he was told to say, he almost always came out of it with a new bruise... even if the crime was something as simple as asking a logical question or obeying a preexisting order. But here he had dared to ask for food, and Itachi-sama had not even struck him for it. Didn't his Master know that he was supposed to punish Sasuke for that kind of thing? Maybe Sasuke was Master's first slave, that might explain it. After all he hadn't seen any other slaves around. Still, even first-time owners were capable of great cruelty towards slaves, but Itachi-sama hadn't even seemed angry. What was wrong with this place?

Still, after he got around his stunned confusion Sasuke decided that he was perfectly content with his owner not hitting him, and resolved to be as good as possible in an effort to keep things that way.

"Th-thank y-you, M-Master-sama."

Itachi turned back to the boy at the quiet words. "Thank you? What for?" _I haven't done anything of note for him yet._

Sasuke gulped, fearful again, thinking that perhaps he had just made things worse again by talking, and stuttered, "F-for n-not being a-angry with me a-about asking for f-food, and for looking a-at Master, and n-now, for speaking w-without p-permission..." his voice had started soft, and had gotten steadily quieter as he went on; by the end Itachi could hardly make out the words.

"Ah – you're welcome...?"

Sasuke looked relieved at the simple words, bowing his head again and effectively ending their little conversation.

_Man, the poor kid really has no idea of basic human rights, if he's thanking me for things like that. _"Actually," Itachi said as a new thought struck him, "Chiziru's right, I probably should have fed you last night when we got back..." the elder Uchiha realized, guiltily, that with the stress of his mission and tending to Sasuke's physical wounds, he'd forgotten to feed the slave. _Damn. I've got to remember stuff like that. Of course, this is coming from the guy who couldn't keep his goldfish alive for more than two weeks... _"My apologies, Sasuke. You just stay there and relax for a bit, breakfast is nearly ready. I don't suppose your stomach will be able to handle solid foods quite yet... how does some porridge sound?"

Sasuke completely missed the last sentence; he was too busy trying to work past the fact that Master-sama had apologized to him – to _him, _a slave, there had to be something wrong with that – but he snapped out of it at the question. "Wh-what? Oh, I, um – Y-yes Master-sama!" The slave agreed hastily, but honestly, he would have eaten dog-food had it been offered at the moment. He was dangerously close to starvation as it was, and for a slave having real food was almost unheard of.

Then his Master set two bowls of steaming porridge on the table, and Sasuke's hopes fell again. There was no way something that good was for him.

"M-Master-sama, is Chiziru-sama eating w-with us?" Sasuke dared to ask the question, since he had yet to be chastised for speaking.

"No," Itachi said, "that's for you. Why don't you get up and come sit with me?"

Sasuke had obeyed the first part of the order and scrambled to his feet before the second half computed. _S-sit with... Master? _Sasuke shook his head, convinced that he had heard wrong. Slaves didn't eat or sit at tables – they sat by their master's feet and ate whatever scraps their owners threw at them. Even new owners always knew that. Perhaps Itachi-Master-sama was testing him?

Sasuke whimpered and took a single step backwards, a host of painful memories sweeping back in a tirade. His thin body began to shake violently, and without even noticing it he sunk back to his knees, cowering. When his old owner had first acquired him he had put Sasuke through a test like this...

* * *

><p>"<em>Come sit at the table, brat."<em>

_Ten-year-old Sasuke climbed unsteadily to his feet, cheek stinging from the slap his Master has dealt it just moments ago._

"_B-b-but M-Master-sama just said-"_

"_Don't question my orders, you little bitch!"_

_Another blow caught Sasuke on the other cheek, a fist this time. The child staggered but managed to keep his balance, clutching his burning face._

_Tears were leaking out of Sasuke's dark eyes, one of which was almost swollen shut. A soft sob escaped his lips as he moved to obey his Master, already knowing what would happen when he did._

_The slave slid into the chair beside the table, and jerked back with a cry when his owner grabbed his hair and slammed his face into the hard wood table-top._

"_Stupid brat! How many times do I have to tell you that slaves eat on the floor?! You're lucky I let you eat at all!"_

_Sasuke just cried quietly as his Master yanked him out of the chair by his collar and held him off the ground, cutting off his air._

_The stronger male gave the child a quick shake, like the movement a Doberman__pincher uses to break the neck of a rabbit. Fortunately for Sasuke the motion was not strong enough to break his spine, but it came close. He whimpered and choked, pleading with his eyes to be let down._

_Partially obliging his Master set him down so he could breathe again but didn't release his collar._

"_Have you learned your lesson, filthy scum?" the redhead snarled. "The next time someone asks you to sit at the table, what are you gonna say?"_

_Sasuke gasped out the answer he hoped his Master wanted to hear, choking the words between sobs and around the still too-tight grip his owner had on his neck. "Th-that s-s-slaves a-are only a-a-llow-wed to s-sit on th-the floor, M-Master-sama. I-I am l-lucky th-that Master-sama f-feeds me in the f-first p-p-place."_

"_That's right," His Master purred, yanking Sasuke forward roughly. His breath tickled Sasuke's ear unpleasantly at the next sentence, and the slave shuddered in fear as he realized that his Master was far from done with him. "But as an object that I own, you obey every order I give you without question, yes?"_

_The sobs re-doubled as the slave replied, "Y-y-yes M-Master-sama."_

"_Well then," His Master said with a sadistic smirk, settling himself into one of the other chairs surrounding the table. "Come sit at the table with me, brat."_

* * *

><p>Back in real-time, Sasuke broke down in tears, terrified that his new Master was going to put him through the same thing, or worse. His old Master had kept it up for hours – a vicious cycle of ordering Sasuke to sit at the table and then beating him when the slave obeyed. Perhaps Itachi-Master-sama would be lenient if Sasuke showed him that he was already trained?<p>

"P-please forgive me Master-sama, b-b-but I c-cant! I- I mean... s-slaves aren't allowed-" Sasuke broke off with a squeak of fear when Itachi left his chair and knelt beside him, prompting Sasuke to cringe against the floor, fully expecting a blow or punishment of some kind. "I'm s-sorry," the slave whimpered, eyes squeezed shut.

The elder Uchiha had expected a few things when he'd asked Sasuke to sit with him. He'd thought perhaps that the boy would hesitate, or even protest, but he hadn't thought it would turn him into a crying, frightened mess.

Sasuke shivered in fright when his owner knelt above him and waited, obviously thinking of all the painful things he could do to him. So, naturally the child was surprised when no pain was forthcoming.

"You know, the floor isn't exactly clean," Itachi said, "but if eating at the table scares you so much then I suppose it's fine."

Sasuke dared to raise his head a little, enough to see the lower half of his Master's face, and was shocked when he detected no anger there.

Itachi was having an internal debate. He was not a caring person by nature, in fact he preferred killing people to interacting with them, but this child was wreaking havoc with his emotions. Instead of the usual irritation and following order to shut up that he normally gave when someone started crying, he had this bizarre urge to... _reassure _the boy? What the hell was wrong with him?

Itachi shook his head quickly, as if trying to psychically rid himself of the strange thoughts.

"Look, kid, you can sit up. You didn't do anything wrong."

Sasuke peeked up a bit further and slowly peeled his forehead off the floor, then returned to the more formal kneeling position.

"M-Master's not going to hit me?" the voice was so quiet that even Itachi's shinobi ears almost missed it.

Was it weird that those simple words sent a pang through Itachi's chest? "No, I'm not going to hit you." Itachi stood and slid back into his own chair, then placed Sasuke's bowl of porridge on the floor beside the slave.

"I don't know if you've just been trained into that or what, but if you get tired of the floor you an always sit with me," Itachi stated.

Sasuke shook his head furiously, still convinced that it was a test, and Itachi let it drop, thinking that pushing the subject further would only upset the boy.

"Go ahead and eat, you must be hungry."

There was a moment in which Sasuke hesitated, unsure if the bowl of food in front of him was actually intended for him, but he quickly lost all inhibitions and snatched the spoon out of the bowl, before proceeding to shovel the contents into his mouth as fast as he could. Prior experience had taught him that what he could not eat quickly enough would be taken away, so he made it his mission to consume as much as possible as fast as possible.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there," his Master said, making Sasuke flinch. Had he done something wrong? Would he lose the food over it? "If you go that fast you'll get sick. Try to pace yourself, okay? No one's going to take it from you."

"Y-yes Master-sama," Sasuke whispered. "I'm s-sorry."

"Che, stop apologizing and just eat," Itachi huffed. The older Uchiha wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but he certainly _did not _appreciate the warm fuzzy feelings the boy was bringing out in him. Uchiha Itachi didn't _do _warm and fuzzy.

Sasuke gulped and hastened to obey, making sure to go more slowly. Now that he thought about it, his Master was right – if he went too fast he'd just end up throwing it up after. Sasuke wondered if his Master had told him to slow down from consideration to the slave, or simply because he didn't want to waste more food.

Both Uchiha finished their breakfasts fairly quickly, even with Sasuke attempting to force himself to slow down.

"How do you feel?" Itachi asked after. "Not sick at all?"

"N-no Master-sama," Sasuke replied as Itachi took his dish. "Um, M-Master-sama, I-I could do th-that for you..."

Itachi glanced back at the slave kneeling beside the table as he put the dishes in the sink. "You will, eventually. After you've healed up and gotten your strength back. But for now you just stay there."

"H-hai, Master-sama," Sasuke replied. He was not accustomed to not having any work to do – usually he was forced to do his assignments as soon as he could remain conscious. This whole sitting around thing felt completely foreign.

Movement from the doorway caught Sasuke's attention, and he lifted his head a little to see Chiziru standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

"The guest room's all cleaned out," she informed Itachi. "I'm assuming you wanted the bed made up as well?"

"Ah, Chiziru. Yes, that's fine, thank you." Itachi left the sink and approached the brunette maid, motioning Sasuke to his side as he went. Sasuke jumped at the small hand motion and quickly scurried over to his Master, head down and eyes trained properly on the floor.

"That was all I needed for today, so you can head on home," Itachi informed Chiziru. "Can you bring the clothes you're picking up from the mall here tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'll bring them over."

"Thank you."

"I will see you later, then."

"Hai. Tomorrow."

Chirizu left the kitchen and Sasuke listened to her footsteps tread down the hallway, then jumped as the front door closed after her.

"Well then," Sasuke's master said, "let's go get you settled, ne?"

"H-hai," Sasuke stuttered. He followed Itachi dutifully, but his mind was somewhat muddled. All this talk of clothes and beds and rooms was confusing him. He had never had more than one set of ratty clothes to wear and a corner of the basement floor to sleep on – he wasn't quite sure how to handle the change.

"Right, here we are," Itachi said when they arrived back at the guest room, now Sasuke's room. "This is where you'll be staying, obviously, and you can use anything in here. Now, you're still healing, so you should get some more rest... actually," the elder Uchiha paused. "Those bandages probably need changing. Why don't you get undressed and wait on the bed, I'll go get the supplies."

"Yes Master-sama," Sasuke replied. Once Itachi left the room the younger Uchiha quickly slipped out of his old shorts and tee-shirt, but he hesitated before getting on the bed.

_Is this really okay? Master said it was. _Sasuke slowly got up on the bed, marvelling at the softness of the blankets. It was even softer than the couch downstairs, and that was certainly saying something. The mattress was spongy and welcoming, and unconsciously Sasuke leaned into it... before he even realized it he was curled up on his side, sinking into the bed and wondering how it was possible for anything to be so comfortable. It felt absolutely _heavenly, _and Sasuke was so tired.._._

"Enjoying yourself?"

Sasuke's eyes flew open _- Wait, when did they shut? - _and he jolted into a sitting position, then gasped when he saw his Master standing beside the bed. Fear rocketed through him when he realized that he had almost drifted off to sleep.

"I-I'm sorry-"

"It's fine," Itachi said for what felt like the billionth time that day, cutting the slave off before the faint tremors in his hands could become full-blown trembling. "The bed's for you, I don't mind if you lie on it. But for now I need to take a look at your back."

Bewildered, Sasuke scrambled up quickly. He tensed when his master reached for him, but Itachi only pulled the slave closer to the side of the bed for better access to his bandaged wounds, and then began carefully unwrapping the slave's back.

Sasuke was confused and a little frightened. He'd almost fallen asleep on the bed, why wasn't Master angry with him? His old master had punished him for both sitting on the bed _and _sleeping, so to put the two together... he shivered. The consequences _should _have been severe.

Itachi noted the shiver and easily deduced the cause.

"You're allowed to rest, you know. Once your duties start you'll have to finish them before sleeping, but for now you should get as much rest as possible. Once I'm done here you can take a little nap."

As there was no order or request included in that sentence Sasuke kept quiet, but he relaxed marginally.

Cleaning the boy's multiple wounds and abrasions took Itachi almost half an hour. About twenty minutes in Sasuke's eyes started to slowly drift shut again, much to Itachi's amusement.

Once finished Itachi told the boy to lie down and get some sleep while he put the supplies away.

"I'll be downstairs when you wake up," the older Uchiha stated. "Sleep as long as you want, you look like you need it."

"H-hai, Master-sama," Sasuke stuttered. The slave did not understand why his Master was letting him rest, and somewhere in the back of his mind he was afraid that the older Uchiha had some kind of ulterior motive... but mostly he was just glad his owner wasn't forcing him to work right away. He really was very tired... his old Master had never let him get more than three or four hours of sleep a night, and even those hours were often fitful and interspersed with fits of shivering and nightmares. So to suddenly have a real bed of his own... it was overwhelming.

Sasuke waited for Itachi to leave the room before hesitantly lying down again. The sheets were one of the softest things he'd ever felt, and sliding into them felt wonderful on his abused skin.

Despite his nervousness Sasuke was exhausted, and soon slipped into sleep.

In the office/medical room/mission preparation room downstairs, Itachi sighed as he slid the medical kit back into its home on the shelf. He was glad to have rescued the slave, and the boy's flightiness was probably curable, with enough stability and positive feedback from him.

Still, ever since bringing the boy into his home something had seemed a little bit... _different _to Itachi. He couldn't put a finger on it, but the Uchiha prodigy reckoned that it had something to do with the bizarre protective streak he was developing towards his slave. However, even that line of reasoning didn't quite encompass the feeling of imbalance that had permeated his life since bringing Sasuke home with him.

Things had never been particularly stable for Itachi. He was a shinobi, so obviously, work for him was both sporadic in availability and dangerous in practice, but he had always felt somewhat... centered. He knew the way the world worked and was perfectly content to find his own little niche within it. But suddenly, with Sasuke's arrival, Itachi found himself feeling somewhat unsettled, somehow _off_.

Over the next few days Itachi told himself that that sensation was simply him getting used to having Sasuke in the house, but inwardly he knew that it was not so much having Sasuke around, as Sasuke himself that was causing the change.

And there _was _a change. Sasuke most likely never noticed; after all, the changing Itachi was the one he got to know, but Itachi himself could see it. The older Uchiha became less quiet and reserved, more likely to offer reassurance, and, strangely enough, more prone to enjoying someone else's company. That last one had never happened to him before, but Itachi just put it down to the general shift in the household that was caused by the introduction of a new member.

It would take Itachi a good while before he realized that the subtle shift he could feel beginning was much more permanent and serious than he had first thought.

Five days after meeting Sasuke, Itachi discovered that he was physically attracted to the slave when he walked in on him showering and caught sight of his bare, dripping wet backside.

Itachi hadn't been all that shocked by the revelation – after all he _was _gay, and as Sasuke's wounds healed it was becoming increasingly obvious that the teen was actually very attractive.

What the elder Uchiha _was _surprised by was his sudden unwillingness to act on his desires. As Sasuke's master, he should have held no reservations in taking the slave to his bed, yet unexplainable he found himself holding back. _Why _he held back was unknown.

Another week passed before Itachi came to the second half of a very important revelation – he was beginning to develop _feelings _for the boy! _That _realization was much more shocking, and somewhat less welcome.

Relationships were not something that Itachi commonly pursued. Even when it just came to friends, the only reason he had any was because Naruto was persistent and wouldn't let him hole himself up in his house. But boyfriends...

Boyfriends were a delicate topic for the oldest Uchiha, as was romance in general. Itachi had only dated once before, just out of high school, and the experience had left him with a few additional emotional scars to add to the pile.

He'd never been involved in anything deeper than a one-night stand since. Inwardly**, **the long-haired raven admitted to himself that his first relationship hadn't been exactly normal – the man had been a bit of a nutcase, to be perfectly honest – but he'd never quite gotten over it.

Hence the extreme reluctance to admit he had feelings of any sort for Sasuke.

At first Itachi tried to ignore it. But after waking up from a steamy wet dream featuring his slave for the fourth time in the row, the eldest Uchiha had to admit that ignoring the boy was not working.

It was at this point that Itachi hesitated to act. The logical thing to do would be to take Sasuke to his bed regardless of any feelings, but said feelings were doing a good job of stopping him. Aside from that, there were precious few options, unless Itachi wanted to admit his feelings to Sasuke and free him...

And as soon as that thought crossed Itachi's mind, on the day he was writing up the report from his last mission, he realized what a wuss he was being. True, he was nicer than most Uchiha, but even for him, this whole willy-washy business was ridiculous! He'd have to put a stop to it.

But then the question became... how, exactly, could he put a stop to it? With anyone else the answer would be simple – either get rid of the slave, and therefore all feelings associated with him, or have sex with him and hope that the act would alleviate the rising sexual tension for good.

The only problem was... Sasuke's innocence and inherent fear of Itachi were making it very difficult for the elder Uchiha to hurt him, or even think about it seriously. He was like a little shadow, following Itachi everywhere and only wanting to please. Harming the little slave just wasn't a plausible option, not when Itachi looked at things honestly.

Still, the point remained that Itachi had to do _something, _or he'd never get any more work done. It had gotten to the point where the oldest Uchiha couldn't concentrate enough to write up reports, because his thoughts were always slipping away to his slave-boy.

Eventually Itachi came up with a plan of action.

Even though the two Uchiha had lived in the same house for over a week by that point, Sasuke was still just as scared of Itachi as he had been the night he brought the boy home. Considering this, Itachi knew that initiating sexual contact would do one of two things.

Either it would go badly and make Sasuke even more afraid of Itachi then he already was, or it would go well and the slave would start to realize that the older Uchiha meant him no harm. If the first happened... no, Itachi wasn't willing to think about if the first happened, because all his plans banked on the second. If they had sex and things went well, Itachi was prepared to ask the teen to be his boyfriend.

But of course, that would have to wait til the opportunity arose... and by 'opportunity', Itachi meant 'when he makes his first mistake'. Because kind master or not, Itachi was determined to make their first time together kinky.

So it was that on one perfectly regular day, about three weeks after Itachi had first found Sasuke, an opportunity arose when the slave accidentally dropped and broke a glass vase.

In hindsight, Itachi admitted to himself that maybe he was a little too rough in their coupling, but it still turned out the way he had planned. Sasuke enjoyed the experience even more than Itachi had hoped he would, and when all was said and done the older Uchiha popped the boyfriend question.

Really, Itachi wasn't too surprised when Sasuke didn't quite believe it for a few days afterwards. Who _would _believe it? After a lifetime of slavery and being told that he was worthless, a sudden offer of freedom and a lover were the last things Sasuke had expected.

But even considering the unusual circumstances, their relationship grew steadily during the days after the abrupt transition. Sasuke slowly but surely started to trust Itachi more, and Itachi found that the nagging, restless feeling in the back of his mind that had plagued him while Sasuke was merely his slave was gone.

So it was that on that one fateful day, Itachi brought up the idea of leaving the house. Sasuke chose the aquarium, and the two Uchiha walked out the door to meet trouble in the form of one blonde bomber.

The actual visit to the aquarium was permanently ingrained on Sasuke's mind – as the first time out of the house in almost three years it was not something he wanted to forget – but what happened after he remembered with a completely different level of clarity.

There is something inherently wrong with seeing the person you believed to be infallible being blown halfway across a room to protect you.

Deidara's presence brought back a host of hellish images and memories, and in an embarrassingly short amount of time everything Itachi's kindness had done for Sasuke flew out the window.

There was noise and fear and somewhere amidst the panic Sasuke registered that Itachi had used his sharingan on Deidara, but by that point everything had become a fearful blur.

Then there was the aftermath, when Deidara was knocked out and Itachi had been hurt.

Sasuke couldn't ever remember being that terrified for so many different reasons at once in his life. But Itachi didn't give him long to worry, and as soon as the two of them made it to the aquarium's medical room Itachi set about comforting the little slave.

A reassuring and (on Sasuke's part) tearful conversation later, and things had seem to be calming down – The two of them had made it through, Deidara was no longer a threat, and their relationship was all the stronger for it.

Then Itachi nearly gave Sasuke a heart-attack when he passed out on the floor.

Honestly, in hindsight Sasuke figured he probably should have been expecting it. Itachi had been looking steadily paler by the minute for the past while; hell, he had even _warned _the younger that he wasn't sure he'd be able to stay conscious... but it still took Sasuke by surprise when the older Uchiha's resolve gave out and he collapsed.

Well, Sasuke thought nervously as Itachi's ANBU friends burst through the door, it would be up to him to handle things.

(END FLASHBACK – FINALLY)

* * *

><p><strong>Thank god, we're back to present-time. That flashback, everybody, was the bitchiest-bitch of a bitchy chapter I have ever had to write. I dearly hope you all appreciate it because it hated me.<strong>

**On another note, I have an important question for you guys – should Itachi and Sasuke ever find out that they're brothers? Right now I have it so that they never realize they're that closely related, but it would add some drama if I added it in... but I don't know if I want to go through the hassle. What do you think?**

**One more thing... to those of you who have favourited or alerted without reviewing... I can still see you. And if you're reading this story and you don't review even **_**once, **_**I might hunt you down. Seriously, I am getting very tired of the unequal review-to-favourite stats.**

**A million thank-you's to everyone who had reviewed so far, you're the best. If I hadn't had you I would still be living at my parents pretending to be straight. Arigato :)**

**Alright, I did my bit, hacked and struggled and ground this thing into existence - here's the bit where you tell me what you thought. Comments, questions, concerns? **

**Love y'all, see ya next time!**

**- Crimson**

**／****l****、**

**ﾞ（ﾟ､｡７**  
><strong>l<strong>**、ﾞ****ヽ**  
><strong>じし<strong>**f_, )****ノ**


	10. Unexpected Connections

**I'm a fucking piece of shit. I think that pretty much covers everything I wanted to say here... O.o this is the longest I've ever gone between updates, and I am SO SORRY. If you want my excuses, I changed emails, and it was putting all my reviews in the spam folder instead of the main one... so for a long time I'd thought you'd all forgotten about me and this story so I had no motivation. BUT! Then I checked my spam folder and nearly had a mental breakdown. Actually, I ran around the house screaming 'Sas lives!' for a good half-hour. Which. Yeah, it feels kind of half-assed to just say 'thank you' by this point, I feel like I should be offering you guys my soul or by first-born child or something. But obviously I can't do that. So, thank you all :) and I dearly hope you don't hate me. Chapter's kind of short (sorry for that too!) but I have a little one-shot tidbit thing written that I'll put up next just as an apology gift. So yeah, here you go... after FAR too long waiting. **

**Also – welcome to all my new readers! Thanks so much for enjoying the nonsense I spew when I'm left alone with a computer for too long!**

**Oh and yeah, because I had to say it twice – I'M A FUCKING PEICE OF SHIT. PLEASE DON'T EAT ME. **

* * *

><p><em>Then the eldest Uchiha's vision flared white and then black, and he crumpled to the floor just as the door burst open before his team.<em>

As per usual, Naruto was the first through the door. The brass nob slammed into the wall with a deafening crack, which was drowned out by Naruto's exclamation of,

"Teme! If you've gotten yourself killed I will never forgive you!"

Sasuke jumped a mile in the air at the loud, dramatic entrance, but admirably kept from flinching.

"Geez, Naruto, could you be any loude- oh my!" a new voice entered the fray, and Sasuke's eyes snapped to Naruto's side, where a pink-haired woman had just appeared. Said woman proceeded to shove Naruto out of her way unceremoniously.

"Is he okay?" yet another new voice said in monotone which, though totally flat, still managed to sound concerned.

"Don't know yet," the pink woman replied tersely, laying two fingers on the side of Itachi's neck.

Sasuke instinctively skittered back a step when the woman walked by him to kneel by his lover, and the movement seemed to remind the invading ninja that there was someone else in the room.

"Who're you?" The pinkette asked rather brusquely, quickly slipping into mission mode. Sasuke blanched and opened his mouth, but the woman cut him off before he could respond. "You know what, never mind, I have to get started on treating Itachi... you, whoever you are, can you wait outside with Naruto and Gaara?"

"I- B-but - " the small Uchiha broke off with a squeak when the pinkette gave him a pointed look.

"I cannot treat him or even assess his injuries with people crowding around."

"I – but, he -"

"Lay off the kid, wouldya Sakura?" Naruto broke in with his usual charisma, then sent Sasuke a friendly smile. "Why don't you come with me and we'll wait just outside?" When Sasuke hesitated he added, "We won't go anywhere else, I promise. We'll be right there."

Sasuke cast an anxious glance at Itachi's pale, still body, and the nodded bravely.

"C'mon." the blonde man and the redhead – Gaara, was it? - both withdrew from the little room. Sasuke hesitated one final time and then followed. He looked back just as the door swung shut, blocking his unconscious lover from sight.

The final sound of the door thudding shut sent ripples of unease through Sasuke's form.

Already outside, Naruto and Gaara exchanged a small glance with each other that was both questioning and confused -

_Do you know who this kid is?_

_No, I thought maybe you did? _

_Nope, not a clue._

Quickly coming to the conclusion that his red-headed partner had never seen the boy before either, Naruto decided to do what he usually did and just ask.

"So who are you?" Not the most polite way to start a conversation, perhaps, but the blonde made up for it by adding a friendlier, "I've never seen you before, are you related to Itachi? You look like him."

Sasuke started when the spiky-haired man spoke to him, and suddenly he was very aware of how much larger the other two men in the hallway were than him.

"A-ano, no we're not related – I m-mean we are, b-but not closely," Sasuke stuttered the words nervously, looking down out of reflex. "I – um." At that point Sasuke paused. Itachi had said before he'd passed out that he trusted these people, and he'd also said that if they asked Sasuke was supposed to tell them that they were dating. So why were the words sticking in his throat?

Naruto, apparently having missed the hesitation, didn't pause. "So are you here visiting? Distant Uchiha relation or something? I didn't know Itachi had any family close enough to let visit... let alone a cutie like you."

That gave Sasuke pause. He dared to glance at the blonde man's face and caught sight of – was that a _flirtatious _grin? The redhead was currently rolling his eyes, seemingly in exasperation, and Naruto bent down a little so that he was on level with Sasuke.

"Y'know, if you ever get tired of hanging 'round Itachi's place, you could always come see me-"

"Itachi-sama and I are dating!"

The entire corridor went quiet for a split second, and Sasuke felt his cheeks go red. Shit, he'd just yelled that out loud, hadn't he?

"Aw, really?" Naruto said, sounding disappointed as he straightened back up. "How on earth did he manage to snare a hottie like you?"

Sasuke blanched, shocked by the man's reaction. The ex-slave had expected the blonde to at least be annoyed that his advances weren't going anywhere, but it would seem that Itachi's trust in his friends was not misplaced.

"Um, y-yeah, we're really dating," the small Uchiha answered the first part of Naruto's question shakily. "And how me met, well... it's compl-"

"Wait a sec," Naruto said. "Aren't you related to him? How can you be dating, isn't that, like, illegal or something?"

Sasuke went to answer and then realized – he didn't actually know. _Was _dating a relation illegal?

"Um, I-I'm not actually s-sure if it is or not..."

"How closely are you related to him?" A smooth, slightly gravelly voice that had only spoken once so far broke in.

"W-we don't know," Sasuke replied, turning to include Gaara in the conversation. "P-probably not too closely. You see, um, I was kinda..." Sasuke trailed off, unwilling to tell these two men where he'd come from. Still, he'd started now, there was no getting out of it. Naruto's blue eyes were boring into him curiously, and Gaara's foam-green eyes, while not quite as piercing, were even more unnerving.

"Um." Sasuke's throat seized up, and suddenly all he wanted to do was to run back into the first aid room, put his arms around Itachi and not let go till his lover woke up.

"Eh, you don't have to tell us," Naruto said, obviously sensing the teen's discomfort. "You're important to him, so we'll look after ya." the blonde grinned infectiously, and Sasuke felt his worry decrease in the face of such simple, forward reassurance.

Soon enough, though, the moment ended and Sasuke was once again thinking about Itachi.

So distracted was he that only Gaara noticed the serious look Naruto gave the boy when Sasuke lifted a hand to touch the door separating him his lover. The movement bared the ex-slave's skin up to mid-forearm, revealing the thick burn scar wrapping around Sasuke's thin wrist.

Suddenly everything about the boy made much more sense to both ninja, and both of them resolved not to let the skittish teen out of their sight.

Unaware of the scrutiny, Sasuke stared unhappily at the door keeping him away from Itachi. He understood that he would just be getting in the way if he stayed, but he couldn't help but want to be inside. Since Itachi had rescued him the two Uchiha hadn't been apart for more than a few hours, and once they'd gotten together they hadn't been separated even while they slept. Waiting while someone else helped his injured lover was grating in Sasuke's nerves.

The ex-slave jumped back when the door swung open again and Sakura stuck her head out. Her expression was pinched, and Sasuke felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"I've dealt with the worst of the bleeding, but he still needs to get back to headquarters ASAP. Naruto, would you fetch the stretcher from the med vehicle? It's unlocked."

The blonde's brow creased at the request; he hadn't realized that his friend's injuries were serious enough to warrant a stretcher. "Sure thing," he said, before striding off. He sent Sasuke a reassuring grin as he moved away, before he turned a corner and was hidden from sight.

"And you – what was your name?" Sasuke turned back to Sakura with a gulp when she spoke again, then gulped a second time when he realized she was speaking to him.

"I, um- I'm Sasuke, Ma- er, miss." Something told him that calling Sakura 'ma'am' as his training demanded would seem a little suspicious here.

"Right," the pinkette said, eyeing him strangely. "Well, can you tell me what happened? If I know what caused some of these injuries I might be able to do more..."

"Um, h-he was- there was an explosion, and it knocked us into one of the tanks -"

"'Us?'" Sakura repeated incredulously. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Wh- no, I'm fine," Sasuke stuttered. Even after all the time he's spent unlearning his slave habits, Sasuke was _still _unused to having people ask if he was okay. "I think m-most of the injuries were c-caused by either the shockwave or the g-glass we fell into."

"Hm... I suppose that explains the burns on his back," Sakura muttered. She disappeared back into the little room, this time leaving the door ajar.

Hesitantly Sasuke crept forward a little and peered into the room. Sakura was between him and his lover but what he _could _see had his heart jumping into his throat.

Itachi's face was sheet white, as if every drop of blood had been drained from it, and the white bandages that Sakura had wound around his forearms were already beginning to soak through. The pink-haired medic had removed his shirt to get to the burns on his back, and Sasuke had to look away at the sight of the charred, blistered flesh.

The ex-slave felt a sob rise in his throat, and he turned away quickly.

Sasuke nearly flinshed when he felt a hand on his shoulder, but he relaxed when he saw it was just Itachi's other friend – Gaara.

The redhead didn't say anything for a moment, just offered a reassuring squeeze. Then, in the same monotone as before, "He will be alright."

The man's appearance and voice weren't all that reassuring, but the simple confidence behind the truth of the words made Sasuke feel just a tiny bit better. He got the feeling that Gaara wasn't the type to offer false assurances, even just to make someone feel better.

After a minute or so more of anxious waiting, Naruto arrived back with the stretcher. Gaara helped Sakura lift the still unconscious Itachi onto it while Naruto went to gather the last two members of their team from the main foyer.

"You know, with all the credentials he's got, you'd think he'd be able to avoid shit like this..." the new voice made Sasuke jump and turn to see two new people striding down the hallway with Naruto. The first was tall with an eye-patch and silver, spiky hair, and the second – presumably the one who had spoken – was a little shorter than the first, with pale skin, inky hair and stormy blue-grey eyes. Sasuke would have mistaken the second figure for an Uchiha of not for the absence of the clan's trademark sharingan.

The three ninja arrived right as Sakura pushed open the door and started wheeling the stretcher out of the room with Gaara's help.

"Would you three give me some space?" she requested. "I've stabilized his condition, but technically he should still get stitches, and I can't treat broken bones here. I have to get him to the hospital ASAP."

Naruto and the two newcomers shifted to give the stretcher more room, and as a group began heading down the hallway.

"I've spoken to the press, there shouldn't be too much media coverage. The aquarium administrator has agreed to wait to give a statement until we can hold a press conference." The silver-haired man cast a worried glance at Itachi's still form with his single good eye. "How close was it?"

"Very," Sakura responded grimly. "He isn't in life-threatening danger, but he'll be out of commission for a while."

"Did you find out what happened?" the second unnamed man asked. "The witnesses we talked to just said they heard an explosion, they didn't see anything."

"We don't know yet," Gaara broke in. "Although I'm sure Itachi's boyfriend here can tell us when we get to the hospital."

Sasuke, who had been tagging along quietly in the background and hoping that nobody would notice him, gulped at being suddenly brought up like that.

"You're his boyfriend?" The silver-haired man said, casting Sasuke a curious glance.

"Ah – h-hai," Sasuke stuttered.

"Do you mind if Kakashi-san and I ask you a few questions about what happened?" The remaining unnamed man asked. "Just so we can give the administrators and the general public some answers."

"Um – s-sure." Sasuke was beyond nervous at this point, but everything was going so fast that he hadn't been given an opportunity to panic properly.

Naruto, seeming to have an idea of what the small black-ette was feeling, sent him yet another reassuring grin. "Don't you worry about it, Sasuke. Kakashi-sensei and Shusui-sempai just need to know what happened so we ca make sure it doesn't happen again."

Sasuke nodded again, trying to slow his breathing. Itachi trusted these people, so Sasuke would do his best to trust them too. Because damn it all, but he couldn't afford to have a breakdown right now. Itachi needed him to keep his head, so that's what he would do.

Half an hour later, after a tension-charged ambulance drive and a nerve-wracking interview with Kakashi and Shusui, Sasuke stumbled into Itachi's hospital room and plopped down on one of the plastic chairs. It had been a tiring day, but the exhaustion tugging at Sasuke's eyes was easily ignored in favour of making sure his lover was comfortable.

Sakura and her assistant had set and set and casted Itachi's broken arm and braced his broken ribs, after which they had hooked him up to an IV and then replaced the bloodied bandages wound around the older Uchiha's forearms. There was a second IV running into his other hand, pumping blood into his body to try and replace the copious amounts he'd lost, but judging by the still ashen quality of the ninja's skin it wasn't enough yet. There was splinters and broken glass shards imbedded in the burned flesh of Itachi's back, hence why he was lying on his stomach rather than his back like he usually favoured.

The entire picture still made Sasuke want to cry.

Slowly Sasuke left the chair and approached the bed, almost nervously. Carefully he hopped up to sit beside his seme, worrying his lower lip as he did so. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to be doing that, but at the moment he missed Itachi's arms around him too much to care.

"Please get better soon, okay?" he said quietly. "Your friends are great and all, but I miss you." Suddenly there was a lump in his throat, but he pushed it away as he lay down next to his boyfriend, being careful not to brush up against anything that might be painful. Since that was essentially Itachi's entire body, however, Sasuke ended up awkwardly on his side, thin fingers intertwined with his lover's larger ones. The younger Uchiha pressed his forehead to Itachi's carefully, a single droplet of moisture slipping down his cheek as he closed his eyes.

Sasuke knew it was irrational, but he couldn't help hoping in some dark corner of his mind that the entire day had just been a nightmare, and that when he woke up Itachi would be fine, and he'd kiss him and hug him like he usually did, and everything would be okay again.

The younger of the two slipped into sleep with that thought on his mind, worry in his heart and tears on his face.

* * *

><p>In another room in another building, a very different situation was developing.<p>

"What the hell do you mean, _they have Deidara?" _The red-headed man exploded at the messenger. "Are you honestly trying to tell me," he snarled, "that not only did those useless goons fail to retrieve my property, but that they allowed my second-in-command and their leader to fall into enemy hands?!"

"Y-yes sir," the messenger squeaked, huge eyes trained firmly on the ground. "Th-the report from your ANBU spy said that all f-four members of the squad were killed and Deidara-sama arrested."

"Fucking useless morons," the taller man hissed. He paused in his tirade for a moment, flat brown eyes calculating. The messenger shivered a little at the killing aura surrounding the rouge nin. "Who was it?"

"I-I'm sorry?"

"_Who was it_?" He repeated impatiently. "What's the name of the man who found the brat and took him in? He's causing me more trouble than I thought he would."

"Ah, I-I don't recall, Akatsuna-sama, i-it's all in the report -" the shaky man held out a folder to his boss, and jumped when said boss snatched it out of his hands.

"You may leave."

"Y-yes sir." the messenger wasted no time in retreating.

Left alone in the room, the redhead drifted over to the couch resting beside the fireplace. Two glasses of red sherry had been placed beside it on a small table, and one of them found its way into his hand. He settled onto the expensive furniture with the grace of someone who is accustomed to luxury and flipped open the file.

"Name of target, Sasuke. Attempt one, failed... imbeciles. Location of target, unknown. Other factors..." the redhead scanned the document quickly, searching for his old slave's new master. "Where are you?" he muttered.

He flipped the page over, and slate-brown eyes fastened onto the picture on the bottom, of a lean figure with long dark hair and glittering crimson eyes.

The redhead was suddenly very still. His gaze locked on the photo with an unreadable expression.

"Well would you look at that," he said with a cryptic expression. Sasuke's old master put his drink down with an ominous thunk and stood, Itachi's picture held perhaps a tad too tightly between his fingers. "Never thought I'd be seeing you again, 'Tachi dearest."

* * *

><p><strong>Dun-dun-dun.<strong>

**What did you think?**

**Thanks for everything, you guys. Seriously. Thanks for breathing. And existing. And reviewing. *throws first born child at you* ARIGATOU! And if it's not too much to ask after a shit-ton of months hiatus, would you tell me what you thought? **

**Neko-chan says thanks too!**

**／****l****、**  
><strong>ﾞ（ﾟ､｡７<strong>  
><strong>l<strong>**、ﾞ****ヽ**  
><strong>じし<strong>**f_, )****ノ**


	11. Just a Tidbit

**Hey all! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, it really means the world to me. Here's a little something I wrote a while back (And I do mean little, it's really short) and I figured I'd throw it in here just because. It's set sometime after Itachi and Sasuke first get together but before the aquarium scene, not even sure exactly where. **

* * *

><p>"Keep staring like that and your eyes are going to fall out of your head." Sasuke huffed a breath that was somewhere between a laugh and an embarrassed protest, tearing his eyes away from the TV.<p>

"Well, I've got a lot of catching up to do." It remained unsaid, but the fact that Sasuke hadn't had the opportunity to watch much television as a slave weighed heavily in the conversation.

"Guess we'll just have to fix that then. But maybe later." Itachi gave the slighter male a little smile and came to sit beside him on the couch, leaning over to give him a kiss. "Those eyes are far too pretty to waste on telly. And _not _just because they're the sharingan sometimes."

Sasuke blushed a bit at the compliment, still unused to receiving them. "Yeah, well, it's not like-" Itachi kissed him again, and he smiled into the kiss, before continuing, "not like I had much of a -" another kiss, and Sasuke was losing his train of thought - "Much of a chance to catch up on Firefly-" one more kiss, and god damn it, Sasuke was hooked.

Itachi smirked shamelessly at Sasuke's annoyed huff, before moving so the younger could climb onto his lap, things on either side of his waist and lips almost touching. "You're distracting," Sasuke muttered, laying a barely-there kiss on the corner of Itachi's mouth.

"I could say the same," Itachi responded, running his hands up Sasuke's sides, then down to his waist, stopping just above the swell of his ass. The younger whined in annoyance, before a sly look entered his eyes and he ground down with his hips, sending a cascade of sensation through Itachi's groin.

"Little tease," the ninja muttered, pulling Sasuke closer. He kissed him again, harder this time, in an effort to wipe the smug expression off his face. "I'm going to have to get you back for that one."

Sasuke smirked, the expression making his face look eerily like Itachi's. "I'm counting on it... _Master." _

_Oh, god. _It didn't even matter how many times they did this, how many times they had wild, kinky sex, that always got Itachi hard.

"And I reiterate. Little tease."

Both of them gave a small, breathless chuckle, weirdly in synch, and then words were lost as they started moving against each other, kissing, pressing closer, Itachi's hands moving to grasp Sasuke's rounded ass, Sasuke's touch sliding up and down his seme's chest.

In one motion the two of them lay back on the couch, Sasuke on his back, Itachi caging his body in with his arms, the gesture at once both dominant and possessive.

"I love you," Sasuke murmured, and then froze, realizing that throughout all the time they'd spent together, all the times they'd had sex, all the times Itachi had said it, the younger had never actually brought it up. But then Itachi was giving him one of his rare smiles, the ones that meant he was truly happy, and he leaned down to brush their noses together, the motion decidedly non-sexual.

"I love you too, little one. So fucking much."

Sasuke blushed again and ducked his head into Itachi's chest, effectively hiding. He felt the older's body move with his quiet laugh, and he moved with him easily as Itachi shifted the two of them so they were laying down. Sasuke was half on top of him, curled up on his chest, and Itachi had a hand draped over the uke's waist, his other arm curled up around Sasuke's head and fingers stroking through his hair.

The previous sexual feelings of the scene had abated somewhat, forced aside by the one thing that was more important. It was kind of nice, actually- the two of them'd been having so much bedroom time recently, it was almost a pleasant change just to spend time together without things going in that direction.

"Oh, if my father could see me now," Itachi muttered, nuzzling into Sasuke's neck. The younger Uchiha bit his lip at the ticklish sensation and cast him a curious glance. They'd been together for a little while now, but Itachi still rarely talked about his family.

"What would he have said?"

Itachi didn't respond immediately, choosing instead to bury his face in Sasuke's dark locks and breath in his scent. "He would have liked you, I think. Well, I mean-" he broke off. "He wouldn't have liked us _together, _continuing the line and all that, but he'd've like you."

Sasuke nodded, considering. That was actually something he hadn't considered – the continuation of the Uchiha line. Because if he and Itachi-sama were the last (or at least, the last that weren't rouge) did that mean they had some sort of responsibility to re-populate? God, he hoped not. "Does that -" Sasuke hesitated, still unused to being able to ask questions whenever he wanted, especially sensitive ones. "Does that mean that one day you're going to have to have a kid with someone?"

"Wh-" Well, of all the things for Sasuke to say, Itachi hadn't been expecting _that. _"No, of course not. Maybe a hundred years ago it would've been expected, and if the clan was still functioning properly it'd be implied, but – no. Sasuke," he said seriously, tilting his head down so he could see the other's face properly. "I love _you. _And I have no intentions of being involved with anyone else. Ever."

Sasuke nodded, jealous instincts sated for now. "Good." And then he added, just in case there was any doubt, "Me neither. Obviously."

Itachi held back a smirk and agreed, "Obviously."

The both of them fell quiet after that, just basking in the closeness and affection of the other. Itachi's been lonely for far too long, and Sasuke hadn't been touched without pain in years... so neither of them had any qualms about spending the next three hours curled up on the couch together, and when the show they were only half-watching ended they spent the rest of the time whispering quiet, sappy nothings to each other, revelling in this new, bizarre thing they had together.

"We should do this more often," Sasuke muttered sleepily, head resting comfortably on Itachi's shoulder. The elder hummed in agreement, not bothering with a coherent response. Sasuke snorted quietly in amusement at how easily the other was dropping off, arms wrapped firmly around his middle. "And you claim to be such a badass ninja."

Said badass ninja cracked an eye open, mock-glaring at his smirking boyfriend. "Damn straight."

Sasuke let out a quiet chuckle and snuggled in more securely, and Itachi tightened the embrace he had around the other's middle, perfectly content for the first time in what felt like forever.

_Damn, _the elder thought just before he dropped off to sleep. _Sasuke's right, we __**definitely **__need to do this more often. _

* * *

><p><strong>All fluff, no sex. I'm sorry, it's been so long since I wrote anything graphic I'm afraid I'm kind of out of practice. There will definitely be more lemons later though.<strong>


End file.
